Merciless Blessing
by Terramew
Summary: The fates are toying with me. I don't know how much more of this I can handle. I saved the world! Why did things turn out like this? I know I did some unsavory things as a human, but why must I pay for it in this life! Changing into a Vulpix made things so different. Am I really even that person anymore? Who am I? I feel so lost. I miss you... Rated M for gore and adult themes.
1. Goodbye

**Chapter 1**

**Goodbye**

* * *

"I can't believe we did it." The Lucario I've come to know as Lyn said. He was sitting down against a tree with his head barely held up. His body battered with bruises and his fur matted with blood. The Lapras had brought us back to the beach after our battle. She even called us the "Heroes of Time." I joked at such a tacky title before we told her our goodbyes, leaving us where we are now.

We sat in silence, taking in the view of the beach. The waters were calm. Bubbles slowly drifted towards the sunset, causing light to reflect through them. The picturesque landscape was almost exactly like that fateful day over two years ago. The day I was swept ashore and found by my soon-to-be partner.

Lyn chuckled, breaking the silence and shaking his head. "A Vulpix and a Riolu… against a fucking legendary of all things!"

"Well.." My figure shook with a very rough cough. "Vulpix and Lucario, you mean." I found it difficult to talk, rasping out a laboured sigh. My inner fire felt so weak and it hurt to breathe. If I attempted any fire attacks right now, I'd be lucky to manage a puff of smoke. I tried to ignore the pain from our barely won battle. My tails twitched against the sand beneath me in annoyance. Even as broken as I felt, I couldn't stand getting my fur dirty. I was lying down, my chin resting on my paws.

"You're right..." He looked his body over. "Who knew after all this time, all I had to do was explode a little bit." He joked.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, "'Explode a little bit' he says. I thought you were dead, Lyn. After Dialga hit you with that blow, you were just gone. I didn't know what to do anymore." I shook my head weakly, remembering how I had truly reacted. How I had given up, basically letting Dialga knock me around like a hackysack.

I felt despicable for giving up in such a way. I just accepted that everyone was going to die like that. Be frozen in time, wondering how we were doing. I'm such an awful pokemon. I pushed my face down into my paws as I remembered what we had just gone through.

_Dialga kicked me once again, launching me into another pillar. I screamed in pain as I fell, leaving an indent of my figure on the crumbling pillar, before landing onto the cold, unforgiving ground. I cried out, I just wanted him to finish me off at this point. The fight itself has lasted nearly an hour already. Dialga already killed Lyn with his roar of time, and was now toying with me. Everyone was already frozen in time by this point so I had no hope of someone else swooping in and saving the day. I couldn't even try to fight back. My enemy looked down on me with disgust._

_"_**_So this is the best the two who challenged and insulted me can do?!_**_" The massive legendary opened its maw and bellowed. His very voice was dripping with power as what he said reverberated in my skull. "_**_Pitiful mortals. Time can not be controlled. Whether you are an anomaly or not. Allow me to rectify whatever mistake allowed you to exist within this timeline to begin with._**_" The energy before him hissed and grew in size as he prepared his final attack. Not even slightly worried about me dodging. I closed my eyes ready for it all to end. Only to hear an almost unfamiliar roar and Dialga's attack ripping apart the ground next to me._

_The whole tower shook as I looked up in bewilderment to see my partner, now evolved, hitting the legendary across the face with a staff made of aura. "Lyn!" I cried out. So ecstatic that he was still alive._

_The newly evolved Lucario roared again. "Get away from my Ruby!" He blasted the legendary with a force palm. Dialga grunted as he fell to the ground, shaking the tower once more._

_I forced myself to stand, desperate to help my partner. I sucked in as deep as I could before launching a fire blast, it's massive size surprised me. Whatever pain in my chest nearly doubled as I began to fear I broke something. Lyn threw an aura sphere at my blast and our attacks melded together. Now an enormous ball of heat, Lyn extended a paw towards it and roared before throwing his arm to the side. Our attacks flew into Dialga's chest as he tried to stand again. Dialga roared as the blast hit and slid across the ground, hitting the pillar from before. The pillar crashed down onto his form.. the battle was won.  
_

"I'm sorry if I worried you, Ruby." Lyn interrupted my thoughts. "His attack launched me out of the tower." He shook his head in disbelief. "The only reason I managed to get back up was sheer willpower. I'm just glad I was lucky enough to only land next to the tower. I had to force every step to get back. Then I saw you on the ground, bleeding." He shuddered before continuing, "Everything turned red as I ran to protect you. I didn't even notice I somehow evolved until it was all said and done."

Lyn sighed, before struggling to get up. "I think it's about time we met back with the guild and gave them the good news. We've got one hell of a story for them after all." He pushed back against the tree until he straightened up. "Ruby?" He held out his paw, as if forgetting that I'd have to jump to reach it. "Ready to go?"

I grit my teeth as I pushed against the sand beneath me. Tears nearly came to my eyes as I slowly managed to get up, only to fall again. I whimpered and bit my lip as my body erupted in pain. I gasped as I felt myself being lifted up to my paws with Lyn holding onto my sides. "Th-Thank you." I nearly whined as I stood on my own again.

"Ruby?" He suddenly said. I struggled to look up to him. He dropped down to his knees to look me in the eyes. That deep crimson pierced my soul. My cheeks heated up while I met his gaze. I couldn't look away from him. He turned to the ocean for a moment as if to contemplate something before turning back. "I know this may not be the best time considering we can barely stand… but I feel as though I can't keep this to myself anymore." He fell quiet again, suddenly interested in the ground beneath him.

"Lyn, just tell me." I leaned forward and nuzzled against his face. He reciprocated as usual, the size of his face made it slightly awkward. He looked so different as a Lucario, but I could still tell it was him. It was as if I could feel that it was still him. He just looked much more.. mature.  
I briefly thought about my own evolution, but shook my head of it. As exciting as it would be to be as beautiful as a Ninetales, I felt like I had just gotten used to this body.

He looked up to me as he inhaled sharply, only to sigh and look away again, shaking his head. If it weren't for the fact that I felt like I was literally dying, I'd have laughed and teased him for being so shy. It was really cute. "Lyn.. Do you remember how we first met?"

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "As if I could forget. Finding an unconscious vulpix with no way of telling if she's alive until she suddenly jumps up, standing on her back legs as she screamed at her paws? That kind of thing sorta sticks with you. You don't meet a 'human-turned-pokemon' every day after all."

"What can I say, I was very worried about my paw-hands." I let out a very weak giggle. "I also remember a certain riolu screaming, too… heh"

He gave a short laugh. "Can you blame me? I thought you were undead, or insane. I'm not sure which I'd prefer. Telling me that you aren't what you look like and instead are an extinct species that hasn't been alive in centuries certainly didn't help your case."

I faked a frown at him, "You make it sound as if you regret meeting me." I knew he didn't, but felt like poking fun at him. My body was starting to slightly numb the pain and I silently thanked the stars that this was the case. My head felt heavier than usual.

He glanced at me confused. "Wh-What?!" He blurted out, blinking several times. "I could never regret meeting you! In.. In fact that's what I was trying to say." I could see his bravery spiking as he thought out his next few words. "Ever since.. The day I met you.. I mean. Look, Ruby."

Our eyes met once more. "The day I met you was one of the best days of my life. I had slowly let go of every dream I ever had, merely being content to be alive, if you could call it that. But you.. You changed that, Ruby. I never thought I could feel the way I do now. I had nothing in my life, just some dumb stone that turned out to be a crazy magic space rock. And then you happened. You joined me in the guild as a partner. You challenged me to become everything I could be. These last five years, my dreams slowly started to flow back. And within each one I found space for you by my side as well. Even with every hurdle and difficulty we faced, I felt excited whenever I glanced to my side and found you there."

My heart was beating so hard I could almost hear it. I was almost holding my breath as tears began to flow down my face. It was getting hard to stand from how light-headed I was getting. I had wanted to hear these words for so long.

He leaned forward and pressed a paw against my cheek as he spoke. "The expedition with the guild where we ended up fighting the mirage of Groudon, finding out Dusknoir was our enemy and from the 'future', racing against the clock to gather each and every time gear. All of it, I managed to be brave and push through because I had you by my side. I felt that I had to protect you. I had to keep you safe… To make you happy... I began to realise that without you, I had nothing. You're... my everything."

I almost begged him to keep going. "Really?.."

Lyn bit his lip as he nodded. " I guess... what I'm trying to say is…" His words felt almost distant. My exhaustion was creeping up on me. "Ruby, I love you." He looked away. "I just wanted to tell you. It's okay if you don't feel the same. I only felt that it was important that you knew how I feel-" He rambled on but I focused on what he had just said.

"Lyn…" He glanced back to me as I interrupted him. Affection burned wildly within his eyes. A slight trace of fear took over, probably fearing rejection. I stepped forward, my front paws on his knees as I got closer. "I love you too, Lyn." I pushed my lips against his. He only took a moment of shock before pushing back against me. He grabbed me by the head and deepened the kiss. I closed my eyes and let myself be consumed in passion.

I felt myself purr in his grasp. He immediately took control, dominating my mouth as I could only moan into his. I wanted it to never end. Tears were still blurring up my vision.

I pulled back, a coughing fit hitting me hard. I took a deep breath and whimpered as a sharp pain pierced my chest. He immediately pulled away. "Ruby?! Are you okay?"

I grabbed at my chest, finding only slightly damp fur and old blood. I shook my head slightly. "S-Something is wrong. We need to get back to the guild…" I whined as I started to walk away from him in the direction of the guild. The pain in my chest grew, my stomach aching as well.

Lyn jumped up before catching up to me and lifting me from the ground. I normally would have complained, but felt too weak to do so. It was comforting.. being in his strong arms. He felt so warm.

"Ruby, hold on." He dashed back to the guild as quickly as he could with me in his arms. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Everything began to blur together.

Lyn made it to the guild literally roaring for help. The guild quickly met him. At first confused, but immediately fear sank in their hearts as they realised what was happening. Half the guild ran out to the town for more help as Chimecho lifted me with psychic to some table. I whined to complain about leaving Lyn before blacking out again.

…

"...at happened!?..."

"...Dialga?!…"

"..hurt bad, I don't.."

"….internal bleeding…"

"...she live?..."

"..Not sure how...managed this lon.."

"...How much time?.."

"...Can't handle thi…"

It upset me how hard it was to stay conscious. Each moment I got, it grew harder to stay that way. "L-Lyn.." I whispered. I finally managed to open my eyes. I quickly found my Lucario, sitting down by the side of the bed I was now in.

His eyes were sunken in and the fur of his face an absolute mess. It looked like he had been crying for hours. "Ruby.." His voice was rough. It was almost hard to recognise. I noticed at that moment that behind him was the rest of the guild. Wigglytuff had his head in his hands, but as soon as I spoke it seemed he looked up. A deep sadness consumed his features. The same could be said for the rest of them as well. Diglett and Bidoof were openly crying. "How..How do you feel, Ruby?"

I was a bit confused by his question. I tried to move over to him. Only managing to move my paw slightly. He dropped in front of the bed, grabbing my paw and holding it. "I.. I feel fine. I think... My head is pounding. My chest stings." It was getting hard to talk again, not so much from pain as it was because my body refused to do what I wanted. "Wh-Why is it so hard to move?"

"Ruby... You were messed up pretty bad by Dialga. I-I wasn't fast enough." Lyn clenched his teeth, trying to hold himself together.

Diglett and Bidoof started crying louder as the others started to shed tears, unable to hold back anymore. "I don't understand." I began. "What's going… on, Lyn?"

Lyn caressed the side of my face. I tried to push into his hand. "Ruby... I love you so much."

"I-I love you too, but..." I desperately wanted answers. I wanted to demand they tell me what's going on. No matter what I tried, my body didn't respond. It was getting harder to think. "Lyn... I'm scared, please..."

His body shook as he stayed silent for a moment. "I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry."

"Lyn?.." My voice was getting softer and softer. I couldn't even see the other guild members anymore. I.. I felt cold. I was feeling more and more nauseated.

"I can't do this!" Lyn stood up from where he was and picked me up. I gasped as he pulled me into his chest, narrowly avoiding his new chest spike as he sat down on the bed. "Please Ruby. Please don't leave me!" I felt something wet hit my fur. I tried so hard to look up. I just barely managed to crane my head up to see his face. He was crying. I couldn't put the pieces together, unable to focus.

"Silly.. I'd never leave you. Y-You're my everything." I could feel his chest quiver and shake. "Why are you crying?" My head fell slightly. My breathing was getting shallower. I started to panic. "Lyn? I feel so weak.. I can hardly.. breathe..Lyn..?"

Lyn pulled me tighter before bringing me up to his face. "It'll be okay, Ruby." He kissed me. I started to cry as well. "I've got you..I'll keep you safe.. I've got you, Ruby.." I knew I wasn't going to be okay. It's.. It's getting hard to even think.

"I.. I'm gonna die.." I whimpered quietly.

Lyn pushed his face against mine and hugged me tightly. He nodded. Everything in me was screaming. Screaming to fight this.

This isn't my destiny. I'm not supposed to die! I just saved the whole damn world, a human in a pokemon's body! I found love. I.. I wanted more adventure. I wanted to settle down.. Have kits even. Why is this happening? I don't understand. Why? Why me?

No matter how much I wanted to fight it.. I couldn't... "Lyn? Can you do something...for me?"

"Anything.." Was all he said.

"Take care of the guild while.. while I'm... away. Live a long and happy life.. You deserve it more than anyone.." I suddenly started hyperventilating. My body was panicking. I tried to calm it down. I didn't want to be remembered like that. Going out scared… I smiled as best I could. "Heh.. I never know.. how to say goodbye."

"R-Ruby! Please.. Don't talk like that. You..You're my reason for living. You're my everything!" He bawled out, shaking his head against me.

"Lyn..." My vision was fading fast. I couldn't even see him anymore. "P-Please promise me.. Keep dreaming.. Please don't ever give..up.. I love you..so..much" I could no longer feel Lyn shaking. Everything was numb. I felt my body breathe out one last time. Lyn's screaming felt so distant.

...

_I died...again.  
_  
...

* * *

I opened my eyes and found myself in what I could only explain as a dark cave. I couldn't see the walls or even the ceiling. As confused as I was, I wasn't scared. I didn't know why. It felt familiar. "Lyn?!" I called out. Of course, I received no answer. I wanted to cry. I wanted Lyn back. This deafening silence was almost maddening. No matter how comfortable or familiar this place was, I didn't like it.  
_  
Plop!  
_  
"Wh-What?" I murmured as I looked around.

_Plop!_

I saw a drop of water as it fell from seemingly nowhere and hit the ground. Which I just now noticed was actually a huge puddle of water, directly in front of me. As I got closer I realised I couldn't really tell how deep it was. I started getting unnerved as I stepped up to it. I gasped as I saw my reflection. Looking down in front of my brownish-red paws, my reflection was not my own.

Or rather it was. At one point it was. My old human form was staring into my eyes with my normal disinterested expression now looking down upon me. I felt a bit of anger spike up inside me as I saw the same clothes I originally died in, only with the hood down. I felt panicky, unsure about how to react to all of this. "What is this?.. Why am I alive? Am I alive?" I asked seemingly no one.

My human reflection shook her head. My eyes widened. Her mouth slowly moved. My voice echoed in my head as the words "**_It's difficult to say anymore, really. I'm sorry. The storm has barely started yet, and we've only just started to atone. I hope it gets easier for you.. one day._**" popped up. I didn't have a chance to react as my human form reached through the mirror-like water and grabbed me. I screamed as I was pulled into the water. No matter what I tried, I couldn't swim. I couldn't move a muscle again! I felt so weak and useless. I couldn't breathe. The water stung my eyes as I tried to keep them open.  
_  
No!  
_  
I kept trying. I tried to scream and flail.

_I just want to move! Let me move, damnit!_

It kept like this for what felt like forever. I refused to give up. "Lyn!" I finally managed to scream, Fire flying into the air from my maw. I didn't get to question how I managed to scream or use my fire before I was pulled under. "H-Help!"

I was finally able to move, but I still felt weak. My inner fire was reacting to all the water. My chest was heaving against my permission. I couldn't get a hold of myself. The water was moving back and forth. I screamed as I was pulled under again, this time by the current. I couldn't tell which way was up. My lungs were burning. It felt like I was spinning. I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I choked out a gasp as I felt something grab me. My heart jumped for joy.  
_  
Lyn! He must've heard me! I…I found him!  
_  
I coughed out my lungs as I was finally pulled out of the water. It was night already. How long had it been? Hours? Days? I hoped it's only been a few hours. I'd hate to have left Lyn alone for too long. I didn't really leave him on the best of notes. I tried to calm my breathing.

Tears came to my eyes. I don't know how, but I'm alive again! "I'm alive!" I screamed out. I found myself on the beach. Of course, I'd show up here again.

"M-Miss?"

I glanced to my side, my heart dropped a little to find that it wasn't Lyn. Actually, it was someone I've never met before. It was a female eevee. She was completely soaking wet, and she looked terribly worried. "H-Hello.." I felt shy, I shook my head trying to dry myself.

_It's okay though. I'll find Lyn when I can.  
_  
"Are- Are you okay?" The eevee asked. She shook herself off, as well. She looked to be just a bit younger than me. I simply nodded. She sighed, "Thank Arceus. After I saw your fire…I didn't think you'd make it. Fire types don't do well in the water after all." She looked out to the ocean. Before startling me by jumping forward. "Oh! I'm sorry. My name is Mai. What's yours?"

I pushed through my timid nature, trying to be friendly. "It's um.. Ruby.

"Ruby?!" I nearly jumped as she almost shouted my name. She frowned. "Isn't that a bit on the nose? I mean if you don't want to tell me, you could just say so."

I frowned too, confused. "What? But my name really is Ruby…" I felt frustrated that she'd think I was lying.

Mai bit her lip. "O-Oh.. I guess it isn't that uncommon to be named after a hero… But finding you in the same place, talk about a coincidence.."

"Huh?"

She shook her head quickly. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. I've just been having a bad day.." She looked down, seemingly disappointed in herself. She picked her head up again. "Do you have any family around here? It's pretty late to be going for a swim."

"Err..yeah. The guild. I should probably-"

"The-The Lopunny guild?! You're an explorer?" She interrupted.

I cocked my head to the side. "Lopunny? No.. no, the Wigglytuff guild."

"Alright." Mai groaned, rolling her eyes. "Now I know you're fucking with me."

"Excuse me?" My blood pressure began to rise.

Mai frowned. "Do you really expect me to believe you're part of a guild that literally hasn't been a thing for like sixty years?"

"Wh-What?" I was starting to get upset. "What kind of sick joke is this?" I screamed at her.

She cocked her head, raising the equivalent of an eyebrow. "Wait… You don't really believe what you said, do you?

"What?! Why wouldn't I believe the truth?" I felt like I was on the verge of tears. "Where's Lyn?!" I demanded.

"L-Lyn? You mean.. Guildmaster Lucario?.." She looked down, suddenly averting her eyes.

"Guildmaster? So he actually took over?" I didn't know how to feel. I was proud of him, but I was still frustrated. Why did she say it's been sixty years. There's no way... right?

"Yeah." She answered quietly. She probably had no idea how to feel either. It's getting harder to believe she's messing with me when she suddenly looks so depressed. "He was a great explorer. One of the best. When I learned he was also one of the heroes-"

"Was?!" I quickly interrupted her. "What do you mean?"

"I-I'm sorry!' She looked to be on the edge of tears too. "I don't know the whole story, but from what I've heard, he died saving his daughter. It was a few years ago. His daughter is the Lopunny that took over the guild."

I could feel myself shaking with anger and confusion. I felt like my brain was going to explode. I couldn't sit still. "D-Daughter? Passed away? Lopunny guild? I.. I don't.. I can't... What?" My mind froze up. I didn't know how to handle this.

_He..He can't be dead. Not now…  
_  
"Are..Are you alright?" Mai asked.

I didn't answer her. I ran to the guild. I heard her running behind me, but I didn't care. I just kept running. Nearly holding my breath, I got to the entrance. "The..The guild. It's…" I threw up. The large pink building was gone.

The only thing there was two statues. A stone lucario nearly twenty feet into the air, with his arms behind him as he looked up to the sky, as if it was ready to protect the ground it stood on at any time. The plaque at its feet read "Lyn, Hero of Time. A loving father, and a brilliant guildmaster. He may have been strict and slightly cold with those close to him, but nobody can refute his bravery. He protected us all and saved countless lives."

To its left, a much smaller but still large stone vulpix. It was preparing a fire attack from its stance. The plaque at its feet read "Ruby, Hero of Time. Her timid nature only hid that she was truly the feistiest vulpix around. Taken much too early from her loved ones. She protected us all and saved countless lives."

I grew dizzy. I felt like I was about to pass out. The world was spinning. Mai had caught up to me, but didn't say anything. I started to whimper as I looked up to Lyn. He looked so strong, how could he die?  
_  
He can't really be dead. He.. He was my everything.  
_  
I slowly walked over to my grave. I noticed a smaller plaque close to the original. I stepped up to it. Trying to hold in my tears, it was hard to read. Everything was blurry. It read "My dear Ruby." It was Lyn's handwriting, I cried as I read the rest. "I don't know how I do it. Going on without you, I mean. So many things have changed in the last fifty years. I became the guild master after Wigglytuff retired. He didn't take losing you very well. Nobody did, really. I tried to keep my head up, to stay strong. To be happy like you wanted me to be. If there is a heaven, you're probably pretty pissed at me."

Mai stepped up next to me. She sighed as she read the plaque with me.

"I do have good news, however. In a recent mission, I attempted to stop a thief and he used his daughter as a decoy of all things! The poor buneary looked so confused at first. She took a liking to me and stuck to my side. Even joined me in the guild! She's so young. I decided to adopt her after being unable to get her out of my house."

I choked on a small laugh as I kept crying.

"It may be a bit late, but she's brightening my days. Every day is finally getting easier. Though she has a wicked left hook. I know you'll never see this, but I wanted to write this for you. I felt as if I had to. I love you, Ruby. Even if you're gone, You're still on my mind all the time. I miss you so much. I hope that when my time comes. I'll finally get to see you again in whatever afterlife there is. Guess I'm not the best at goodbyes either since it's taken me fifty years, huh? I suppose it's finally time I try to move on. Goodbye, Ruby." I bit my tongue hard, tasting blood as I read his signature at the bottom.

"G-Goodbye Lyn." I weeped as I lied down in front of my grave. I felt Mai run her paw against my fur. "You don't have to stay with me, Mai…I believe you now."

She didn't reply for a second, but suddenly hugged me. "I don't really understand what's going on, nor do I completely believe what you told me. Even more so that if what you told me is true, then we're sitting on your sixty year old grave. But, I can't leave you like this."

She felt warm. She was a complete stranger, but honestly.. I was alone. I had nobody. I pushed against her a little, crying into her fur. "I'm all alone… I.. I should have just stayed dead!" Mai hugged me tighter. I felt like a kit, crying into her mother's fur. "Please don't leave me…"

"I won't.. I'm here." She whispered to me.

"I..I don't think I can do this without him.." I moaned out. I felt Mai's tail wrap around me.

"It's alright. It's alright. I've got you." I cried harder, remembering Lyn say the same thing. Eventually I fell asleep in Mai's fur.

_Lyn…  
_

* * *

**A/N: Rated M, but It's mostly going to be for gore/death and adult themes. Probably not lemons ha. I'm probably going to lose potential viewers for rating it as such, but I don't want to water down my "vision" for this just in case ffnet actually pays attention to ratings. Leave a review with some constructive criticism if ya got time. I'd love to hear your opinions. Oh and the human and grovyle from the future didn't happen in this universe. Dialga sent back dusknoir because of a sudden change. IE Ruby entering the world as a vulpix. Timey wimey nonsense. It's going to say hero of time often, and no this isn't an allusion to legend of zelda. I didn't realise it until someone mentioned it to me after reading the next chapter. Thanks for reading. Feel free to flame/praise. Have a nice day!**

**Posting updates for this story on my twitter Terramew**


	2. I've missed so much

**Chapter 2**

**I've missed so much**

* * *

"Ugh." Sunlight peered through my eyelids and I tried to cover my face with my tails. My head was pounding.

_I thought the sun was supposed to be comforting for fire types._

I groaned again as I tried to wake up more, noticing the sun nearly at its highest point already. Memories of the day before flooded back. I was still lying in front of my own grave. Now though, I was alone.

I figured Mai would leave when she could. I mean, I probably seemed insane to her. I chuckled a little, remembering how I made Lyn think the same when he found me. It felt weird to laugh, though the physical reaction felt more disturbed than any kind of uplifting.

_I'm apparently awful at introductions, too. Was I always so timid? _As a human I could remember several contests I took part in, all with some pretty large crowds. _Did I shy away from their cheers? Ah what does it even matter anymore. I'm some kind of Pokemon that doesn't understand how dying works apparently._

My heart was heavier than it had ever been before. It's not like I've never dealt with death in my life before. It's not even the first time I've been brought back to life, if that's what you want to call it. I had everything I had ever wanted, though. An adventurous life, great friends, and even a potential mate!

My fur felt weighed down. I rubbed my eyes. My back and legs struggled to pull me up. Every bone in my body felt uncomfortable and weak. The panicky feeling in my chest stopped me from even considering trying to clean my fur. I was a mess.

I walked in between the Lucario and Vulpix statues to the edge of the cliff, where the entrance to the old guild used to be. I could still see it in my head. The large pink building in the shape of wigglytuff that did nothing but house the ladder down to the base. It was a sheer drop to the rapids below now. I wondered if anyone else could still be alive before sighing.

_They'd be super old by now if they were alive. How would they react, seeing me alive? Mai hadn't exactly had the best reaction in response to my "claim." Would it be better if I just let them remember the "me" from back then?_

I sighed, I couldn't believe the way I acted. Mai was a complete stranger and not only did I scream at her. I also cried into her fur until I fell asleep. I appreciated how she had comforted me, though.

My tail flicked nervously as I remembered how I had basically slept on top of her. _I sort of wish I got to know her better. She's the only person I've interacted with so far. I couldn't believe that for a second time, I've found myself in this town. _

_I'm all alone and basically lost depending on how much has changed in the last sixty fucking years I missed being dead and all. I'm going to have to meet more people, again. I miss Lyn, he did most of the talking while I stood by him quietly. The most I did was comfort any young we saved from dungeons. I didn't even talk much to the other Guild-members. _

I shook my head of my thoughts, knowing they wouldn't help me. It's probably best to head to the guild first. I felt an odd wave of nostalgia hit me. The memory of when I finally succumbed to Lyn's pleas and told him I'd make a team with him. The first dungeon we explored as we searched for some stupid pokemon that managed to steal an item from Lyn.

I couldn't hide the fact that I enjoyed the experience. Learning how to use this new vulpine body. Having memories of teaching my own Vulpix helped greatly. It was like a dream to breathe my own pretty flames. The exhilaration even distracted me from the whole "I'm a pokemon, alone in a new unfamiliar world" thing.

Of course now that Team Reborn(Lyn's dumb idea) isn't a thing anymore, I'd have to start all over again. I felt that telling others that I'm not dead, or even as old as I'm supposed to be might be a bad idea. Mai hadn't mentioned any rumours about me being a human once, so I guess that the guild kept that secret even after I died.

_I wonder if their rule on at least two pokemon needed to make a team is still in effect._ I pushed a small rock over the edge, watching as it fell all the way down to the raging waters below. The waves struck the base of the cliff over and over, only pulling back to show a bed of sharp rocks. _I'd most likely die if I fell down from here. _

Not that I'd kill myself. It was just getting harder to fear my own death when I've literally experienced it twice, now. I stretched out my front paws over the edge, my short claws popping out. I subconsciously let out small flames with every breath. _I wouldn't mind starting a team with Mai if I found her again. She may not look like she's very high level at all, but at least she seems to be good company._

_Thump!_

I jumped at the sudden noise and turned around with my fur standing on end. I relaxed as I saw none other than Mai standing at the top of the stairs. I sighed in relief, but then noticed that she was completely pale with her maw wide open. "It-Its not worth it! Please don't do it!" she shouted.

I met her gaze, with my brow furrowed unsure of why she seemed so distressed. "Do what?" I looked behind me, seeing my back paws right on the edge of the cliff. "Oh… Oh! No, no!" I walked away from the edge. "I wasn't… I mean, I was just thinking about other things."

Colour finally came back to her as she shook her head wildly. "You can't do that to me! My heart can't handle that sort of scare." She took a deep breath. "You made me drop my food, you know."

"Sorry.." I muttered, nervously pressing down on one paw with the other. "Wait. Why did you come back? I thought you'd have left." I raised my head. I almost felt happy to see that she came back. Smiling felt too difficult to do, so I kept my normal expression.

The Eevee reached down by her front paws, grabbing a small paper bag, only stopping to push a few of the berries that had fallen out back in. She gave a small smile before talking through the bag in her teeth. "You asked me not to leave. Remember? I told you, I won't unless you ask me to." I turned away and felt my face grow warm, slightly embarrassed that she brought that up.

"Well," she continued, "technically I lied a little. I left when I woke up to get us some food and tell my boss I was taking the day off. Seeing how you were still asleep… I didn't want to wake you. You looked too peaceful to wake up and drag around town." She padded her way over to me, dropping the bag of food and rummaged through it. She offered me a pecha berry.

"Th-Thank you." I barely whispered as I took the berry. It's sweet juices made my tail shiver. I couldn't remember the last time I ate. She grinned happily in response, offering a random assortment of other berries. "Are... Are you sure you want to stay with me?" I timidly asked. "You didn't have to skip out on work."

"As if I'd say no to hanging out with the 'Hero of Time'! Besides, work is boring and half the time being broke is almost worth not having to be there." She chirped oddly cheerfully.

I let out a quiet whimper, staring at my paws. "I appreciate it, but… you don't have to entertain such a crazy idea just to make me feel better. I mean for all you know, I'm probably just some random 'mon wanting attention and making up stories." I felt her paw on my shoulder. I looked back to find her leering at me and I almost jumped in fright.

"I'm not entertaining anything, alright?" With the burning conviction she showed, it felt like she was staring into my soul.

"Crazy or not, I've made my choice to believe what you said. There was nothing made up about the emotions you showed me last night. So I believe you, okay?" I held back my tears, nodding. "Good. Now, let's finish up our meal and I'll show you around the town!" She announced, excitement filling her voice and body.

I ate my share, albeit much less than Mai, not being as hungry with so much still plaguing my mind. She hopped up urging me to follow, which I did in my own time. After several minutes of walking, we came upon multiple house-like structures on either side of the walking path. I had to stop myself from gaping at them with wonder. I could tell they were nothing like the much more advanced building I first grew up in, being a human.

However, these houses that were made of something very close to brick and possibly more looked structurally sound, nothing like the few homes I saw outside of dens back before I died. There were the odd shops, as well as the Guild, that sported the face of a Pokemon as part of it's architecture. These were nothing like that. Some were even two stories! The uniformity was almost unnerving, as if a step closer to what humans called their own evolution. Mai walked ahead, not paying the houses any mind since she was so used to them.

_Are any of the buildings the same as I remember? Did Lyn have the Wigglytuff building changed into his own head before whatever caused it to be torn down happened? If he did, I'd be so upset to find out I missed it. I missed so much, didn't I?_

I had to stop myself from thinking about this. The awkward silence between the Eevee and me wasn't helping. "Mai?" Her tail flicked in response, apparently lost in thought herself, "Where do you live?" I asked, feeling genuinely curious.

She giggled "You've gotten brave all of a sudden." she retorted, avoiding my question.

"N-No!" I stopped, my tails curled around me to cover my embarrassment. "That's not-"

"I know, I know." She laughed harder. "I'm just kidding. I actually live in a den by the beach. I was headed home when I found you trying to swim. The den's nothing special, though." She turned to me, walking backwards. " Why'd you wanna know?"

"A den?" My tails flowed back behind me as I tried to catch up. I struggled to keep my paws walking forward normally and tail aloft enough to avoid the ground, having not fully recovered from my embarrassment. "Not one of these houses?"

"Tch. I wish I could afford a house like these." She noticed my confusion and continued. "The rent. It's much too high here. Only the richest, snobbiest Pokemon live around here. The rest of us live in either the housing tunnels or dens outside of town."

"The rent?" It wasn't a new concept to me by any means, but hearing it come from a Pokemon felt off.

_Even after sixty-five years, I'm constantly trying to remind myself I was human. It really doesn't matter anymore. I'm a Vulpix._

"Right... Dead for sixty years…" Mai hesitated, thinking about her words. "Be patient with me on this, I didn't exactly live through this. Everything I learned about this was also from a money grubbing prick I had the delight of calling granddad."

She spent another minute to formulate an answer before finally starting. "About 50-55 years ago, maybe? The town started expanding as much as possible to make room for all the new Pokemon coming in. Ever since… I guess your team saved all of time, Pokemon from all over the world have been moving to Treasure Town in droves. Anything to be closer to the champions recognised by the Legendary Dialga. Some for comfort, some for.. merchandising opportunities."

She flipped around again, now walking by my side. "After all the horrible things happening in the world back then. Random chunks of the world being frozen in time and nobody really being able to do anything about it. Most thought they were abandoned by the Legendaries. At least until you guys showed up. Word spread, Pokemon lost faith in their own Guilds. They moved as close as they could to those who actually did something. The Guild that saved the world. The Heroes of Time rather."

"But I was already... long dead by then." I interjected with a sigh. Cruelly reminding myself of my abnormal place in this world.

Mai nodded with a frown. "It took time to get here, most got here by boat. Which were being built like crazy to handle all the demands of people fleeing to Treasure Town."

"Sure, it sounds weird now, but nobody really knew if all of this world ending stuff was truly over. When they finally got here only to find one of their heroes dead... I've been told many mourned, not even knowing their hero. They were just too grateful for what you had done to not be hurt by your passing, I guess. "

"Guildmaster Lucario accepted all of the new Pokemon in stride. He organised those within the Guild and even those who were only residents of the town to help build. The town at this point started functioning entirely around the Guild. They built more and more to welcome all the new residents of Treasure Town."

"The Onix and other rock types, as well as any ground types dug into the earth. The tunnels under the town are where a majority of the Treasure Town residents live now. I originally lived there with my family, but when my grandfather died, my mom and I moved to the new den I live in now."

I walked closer to her, worried about her being upset. "So your family moved here at the beginning of all that, too?"

She nodded solemnly. "My grandfather was another one of those who hoped this place would be a gold mine for business once the community began to thrive. He apparently did well for himself for nearly two decades before what he calls a mistake happened. My mother was born a little while after he met some leafeon trying to sell herbal remedies. Apparently she left him with my mom soon after since she didn't want to be tied down."

Her voice turned spiteful. "Mom says he was always sour after that and that I shouldn't hate him for it. As awful as it sounds, I wasn't really bothered by his passing. If anything, life was actually easier after we moved into the den. Plus the beach was a nice bonus."

I clenched my teeth a little, feeling a headache start to form from so much information. I tried to make the conversation lighter. "Yeah, I love the beach too. I didn't really get the chance to bring it up with him, but I was actually considering having a place built in-between the Guild and beach. It's very beautiful there."

"Yeah..." She sighed. "Sorry, I went off on a tangent there." She shook herself as if to rid herself of less than pleasant thoughts. "Anyways, the town did well for a little while. Resources started running low, though. Lucario was starting to grow desperate. Theft, as well as other crimes, were at an all time high. Nothing was working and pokemon were starving and slowly leaving the town. So they finally settled on outsourcing nearby towns that were flourishing."

"Of course, this came at a cost. Even with transport overseas being much more common by then, Treasure Town's debt was growing. An old chatot came to Lucario with an idea. It saved the town. Every home, even the small homes in the housing tunnels required a small amount of poke to live in each month. The amount was higher or lower depending on the quality of the home. Those above ground quickly ran low on poke. And if you couldn't afford to live here, you were then evicted. The Police were even involved for those who refused to pay."

"That's just how it is, though. The less demand there is for food probably helped quite a bit, too. Pokemon panicked because of this. They tried to get jobs anywhere they could and then they tried to join the guild for the free housing."

"Lucario struggled keeping all those who joined in check. They weren't taking missions, and when they did, they usually failed. Lives were lost. The guildmaster kicked almost everyone out of the guild and enforced an introductory test. Since then, not many try joining the guild anymore. They gave up after finding out what the test was. I sure as hell did." Her voice grew quiet, sounding depressed.

"You wanted to join the guild?" I asked, unsure of how to comfort my new friend. Guiltily relieved she seemed to be out of history to tell. My brain was starting to short out.

"It was my dream. I just don't have it in me. It took me years, but I've figured it out. You've either got natural talent or some crazy amount of experience… or it's just not gonna happen. Besides" She feigned a weak smile to me as she tried to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "I've gotten pretty good at my job. I've got almost all the prices memorised at the store. So I'm used to it. Better than being stuck in a childish dream."

"O-Oh... I was hoping to. I mean-nevermind..." I shied away from her gaze.

"Nevermind? What is it?" I stayed quiet, nervously looking at anything else. She sped up and stopped in front of me. "Ruby, tell me. Please?"

I sighed, giving up. "I was actually sort of hoping you'd consider joining the Guild with me. I don't really know anyone, and I enjoy your company..."

"You…" She stared at me incredulously. "You want to make a team with me?" I heard the disbelief in her voice and I started to feel sick.

"S-Sorry.."

"Yes." She answered abruptly.

My head shot up. "Huh?"

She had tears in her eyes. My stomach cramped as she screamed. "I said yes! I want to make a team with you!" She almost jumped onto me, in an impromptu hug. "Ruby! Thank you!"

"Wh-What? What about your job?" I wanted to retreat into my tails. Not that I disliked her hugging me, but out of nowhere, in public? I was starting to get panicky.

"That was a lie, Ruby! I desperately wanted to join you in the guild, I didn't think you'd be interested in me as a partner." She nuzzled into my face, I pulled away with my heart beating really hard.

"Ah..." I shook my head fervently. "Welcome to the team, I guess."

She grinned from ear to ear. "I won't let you down!" She ran around me energetically. I glanced around nervously for any onlookers. There were very few 'mon outside. Even though we were in the town square now. There were plenty of buildings, one much larger than the rest right in the middle. The only people outside were cleaning. They mostly paid us no mind.

"Mai? Where is everybody?"

She glanced around quickly. "There's hardly ever pokemon out above ground around this time. Guild members are usually up around dawn to pick out missions and supplies. They work during this time, and come home at night. Since the guild is such a large presence here, the entire town usually follows their 'schedule.' They make the most money here, and buy the most stuff."

"I see.."

"If you want," she started. "We can go ahead to the guild and let them know we plan on joining."

"Sure." Her tone made it sound like she was begging me to. I couldn't say no to her pleading face, regardless.

"It's this one!" She ran to the largest building nearly in the center. On our supposed tour, she walked us straight towards the Guild first. I exhaled out my nose a bit in mirth before following after her. I couldn't lose this worrying feeling in my chest.

_Would Lyn be okay with this? Is all of this really a good idea?_ We ran past a large bulletin board filled with papers begging for assistance. I felt a little annoyed at how many were still up, but then relented, guessing it was because of how many people lived in this town. Mai pushed one of the large doors open and we headed inside.

I felt flabbergasted at the inside of this building. The main area was quite spacious. Towards the back was a staircase that stopped at one door before splitting off into two. They lead up to several rooms that wrap almost all the way around the building. There were four nondescript doors on the ground level as well, two on each of the far sides.

The roof above was covered with glass, the sun above still high, now nearly an hour since I woke up. Another bulletin board was up against the back wall, several letters covered it too. Right in front of us was a large desk against a podium that went all the way to the ceiling. A Bisharp sat at the desk with his hand around a pen, silently writing into a notebook. His eyes flicked up to us before returning to his notebook.

"Welcome back, Mai. You haven't tortured another male to join you again, have you?" His voice was smooth, almost melodic. He was met with silence as an answer. The scratching of his feather pen on paper echoing alongside our footsteps through the incredible building.

She walked up to the desk with a big smile on her face. I followed her, trying to hide my amazement.

"We're here to ace your dumb test, Jeremiah." She smirked at him.

The Bisharp dropped his pen in the crook of the book, before placing it down. He crossed his arms and looked us over. My heart raced as his eyes stayed on me much longer than Mai. "It's not my test, young Eevee. A bit of respect goes a long way." His eyes looked me over again. "Where are you from, young Vulpix? You're familiar, but nothing comes to mind. Forgive me."

Mai spoke up. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you!" My blood pressure spiked in panic.

"And what wouldn't I believe, pray tell?" He inquired, his eyes squinting a bit.

"You should recognise her! She's-"

_Pomf_

She stopped as my tails batted against her face, one even popping into her open mouth. I shook my head at her. "I'm nobody important!" I interrupted. "Just got here from overseas."

I pulled my tails from Mai. With her face red, she looked away and muttered. "I should be more upset about that than I am."

He stayed silent for a moment. Looking back and forth between the two of us, before grabbing his face. "Sure, I'll pretend like that didn't just happen! No problem." He sighed. "What's your name, young Vulpix?"

"Ruby. Named after the hero of time, no relation."

"Jeremiah, pleasure to meet you dear. Are you sure about joining under that name? I know it sounds cruel to ask you to go by a different name, but Guildmaster Lopunny may be a bit hard on you for it." I nodded, refusing to change my name. "So be it."

"Is Hapi here?" Mai piped up.

"Guildmaster Lopunny." He corrected her.

"Is Guildmaster Lopunny Hapi here?" She asked, now glaring at him.

I could feel the pressure in the air, much too timid to try to break the silence, I remained silent. "No." He finally answered. "She's out on a job. She'll be back tonight though. I can set up your test for tomorrow morning.

"Okay, bye!" She suddenly said, running outside. I bit my tongue looking from the door to Jeremiah.

"You choose interesting friends, miss Ruby." I nodded to him and ran after Mai.

Once out the door I found Mai waiting for me. "What took you so long?" She asked as if it'd been more than five seconds. "Nevermind that, we should talk strategy, Hapi punches really hard."

"W-Wait, what? We're fighting the guildmaster?" I stuttered out.

"Yeah, that's the test! Told you, it's pretty hard. So out with it, what moves do you know? Do you know what level you are? I'm not that high of a level, but I have some really cool moves!"

"M-Mai! Slow down." I leaned back a bit, crossing my front paws.

She took a deep breath. "Heh. Sorry. Just really excited for this."

"It's okay, just give me time to answer your questions… I know pretty much all the fire moves a vulpix can learn. As well as Extrasensory and Energy ball. My level.. when I was still alive, it was almost seventy."

She looked astounded. "S-S-S-Seventy?! What the hell do you mean, seventy?!" she screamed.

I pushed my paw against her mouth, "Mai, please! Lyn and I were very active explorers. It just sort of happened." I pulled away once it felt like she wasn't going to shout again.

She looked dizzy now, catching her breath and finally calming down. "Hehe.." She shook her head, "Oh! We should tell my mom!"

"O-Oh, okay." I followed after her, wondering if this having to chase after her thing is gonna be common. She started to go to the path we came here on, but first ran into one of the other buildings. The sign said that it was Felicity Bank, just like it used to be. I walked in after her. The room was separated in two. A very small section was all we had to walk in. The rest was blocked off by a counter going all the way around. Beyond the short counter, you could see a dirt ground broken into different sections by higher placed dirt. A sandslash was talking over the counter to Mai.

I walked over to meet them, "What's your password dearie?" The Sandslash asked, her voice was like that of an innocent grandmother. I didn't hear what Mai said, but the Sandslash dug into the earth immediately after, coming back up with a bag. "And how much will you be withdrawing today?"

"200 poke, please." The eevee responded.

Sandslash quickly pulled out the needed amount and retreated underground again after giving it to Mai in a smaller bag. "Have a nice day!" she ended with.

Mai turned to me. "Hey, do you think you still have an account here?"

I glanced at the Sandslash, who kindly waved at me. The memory of a small Sandshrew shrilly cheering while watching her father dig into the earth before retrieving the amount of money I had asked Persian for came to me.

I shook my head of the thought, "I might.. But I don't know if it's a really good idea... I'm not supposed to be… you know. Alive." I whispered to her.

Mai shook her head, the poke bag in her mouth jingling. "All accounts are completely private! Even if she knows, she can't tell anyone."

I grit my teeth, still not sure, but I walked over to Sandslash anyways. "What's your name, dearie?"

"It… It's Ruby." I said, quietly.

She hesitated for a moment, before opening a very large book. I couldn't see its contents. "Do you know your account number?"

I told her the mixture of numbers I must've said a thousand times. This was perhaps the weirdest time.

She squinted at me, looking me all over. I got really uncomfortable and considered just calling it quits and running. "You sure you aren't missing a digit or two?" I shook my head. She looked down to the book reading for a bit before stopping, glancing at me and then the book again. She looked up to me. "This account has been moved to a joint account by the request of the previous guildmaster. You wouldn't happen to have the password for this account, would you?"

I took a deep breath, knowing what Lyn's password used to be. "Team Reborn is... the best.. damn team in the world." My face burned from embarrassment.

She stared into my eyes for nearly a whole minute in silence. My heart was beating so hard. _I want to get out of here. I shouldn't have tried this. What am I doing?_

"Here." She placed a sheet of paper in front of me where I can read it. "This is the contents of Team Reborn's account." My jaw dropped at how many zeros there were. This bank apparently functioned like Kangaskhan's storage too, having several items. I read through the list and felt my heart jump as I saw one item in particular.

"Mai?" I motioned for her to come over with my tails.

"What is it?" She saw the paper. Now with eyes the size of plates, she whimpered.

"What's your favourite colour?" I asked.

"P-P-Purple." She was hyperventilating. I showed Sandslash the paper and pointed out a few things and asked for 2,000 poke. Not thinking I'd really need more. She nodded, and dived into the ground.

_I know I left a considerable amount in there just in case something happened, but this was nearly twenty times that! It had to be Lyn's money. I hope he didn't mind me using our account. I shouldn't use much of this money if I can avoid it. Although, I don't think I could spend a quarter of it if I tried._

The Sandslash appeared again. She handed me a small black bag that was designed for quadruped Pokemon to wear. It had the symbol of an explorer badge on the front which looked much more faded now. "A note came with one of the items, dearie." she mentioned. "I left it in there for you"

I nodded curious as to what it was, but decided I'll find out later. "Let's go, Mai."

"Y-Yeah... okay." She replied, still in shock.

"Have a nice day!" The Sandslash called out to us as we left. I really expected her to react more. I was certain she noticed… but she didn't say anything.

Mai and I made our way back to the beach. After maybe ten minutes, she broke the silence. "Ruby?" I looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Are you sure about... about making a team with me?"

"Of course, I told you before. I enjoy your company." I answered without a thought, really confused on why she looked so sad all of a sudden.

She sighed. "But... what if I'm just using you? None of what I'm doing feels fair to you. I thought I was helping at first, but you're so much more capable than me. You're strong, and you probably won't be short on poke ever. You barely even know me, but I'm just butting into everything."

I glanced downwards. "I really don't understand what you mean, Mai. I guess I'd want to get to know the real you, then." The beach came into view as we kept moving forward.

She replied quickly, "Even if.. all I do is drag you down? I'm nowhere near the partner Lyn was. I'm poor, weak, and selfish. There's plenty better pokemon than me out there. All much more deserving to be in a team with you."

"Mai!" I felt my fire flicker with my frustration. "What does it matter if you don't have much money or experience? We're just starting. No, you're not Lyn, but he didn't start out perfect by any means! Do you have any clue how many times he's driven me insane by his obsession with bringing every criminal to justice?"

I groaned and shook my head. "You're Mai, and that's who I want as a partner. No one else. So please, stop trying to convince me you're anything less than you are."

She was completely taken off-guard by my sudden ferocity. Avoiding looking at me, her ears twitched anxiously with reddened cheeks. "Okay. Thank you... We should get to the den." She turned and started to run, but froze in her tracks a few steps away.

"Mai?" I ran forward a bit to catch up. She was looking ahead to the beach. Her face was pale and she looked terrified. "Everything okay?" I followed her gaze and felt my heart drop.

An Alakazam stood at the shoreline, right above the limp body of a Lopunny. He was holding only the head of the poor bunny by its ears. Fresh blood dripped from where its neck would had been. I heard him sigh as he scratched his head. "Even in death, she has such a sour face." His voice was eerily calm. My haunches raised as I quickly looked around for anyone else. We were all alone. It seemed like he hadn't noticed us yet, somehow.

_This is bad. This is really bad._

I shook my head, I had to stay calm. I began to slowly back up, looking to Mai so she'd do the same. As she recognised the body, Mai let out a sharp cry "Hapi!" The fur on my back stood. I glanced back to the Alakazam. His eyes met my own, and his glare made my blood run cold.

_Shit._

"You two must have some very poor luck." He clicked his tongue. He suddenly disappeared, the head falling to the ground with a thump. I didn't have any time to think, jumping into action immediately. A flash of yellow appeared beside Mai, who was still frozen in sheer terror. I tackled her out of the way. I flicked my tails, a purple fire fizzled into existence and flew straight into the Alakazam.

I quickly summoned as much fire into my chest as I could. "Oh ho ho!" He spoke with the same eerie calmness from before. I felt annoyed as I realised my will-o-wisp did next to nothing. "Now I wasn't expecting some random kids to actually spark some interest." He showed his unnaturally white teeth in a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "That Eevee should thank you. That hit would have almost ripped her in half."

I heard Mai pull herself up behind me, but I didn't risk glancing to see if she was okay. I had to somehow get away from this guy, I couldn't tell whether or not I could actually handle fighting him. Even more so considering I'd have to protect Mai. This predicament made me miss Lyn even more, he was much better at dealing with teleporters.

"Mai!" I shouted, hoping she'll listen. "I need you to get as far away from here as you can! I can handle him alone until you get some help!" I scowled through what I hoped wasn't a lie. My muscles were already struggling. Something was wrong. I should have been able to get Mai away instantly and that will-o-wisp didn't even seem to burn him a little.

"As if I'd leave you alone! He killed Hapi!" I nearly jumped at the agitation in her voice. "I promised I'd stay with you, no matter what!" A ball of dark energy shot out from behind me, flying straight at the Alakazam.

He half-heartedly lifted his arm, catching the shadow ball. "I'd suggest listening to your Vulpix friend. Not that you'd get very far. You're several levels too early to do anything worthwhile in this battle. Maybe massacre would be a better word to describe this?"

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck._

I racked my brain for a plan. I feel weaker than I used to be, but there's no telling how much experience I lost. _Can I really handle this?_ "If you're going to stay, Mai, keep your distance! Don't even consider any physical moves." I heard a huff of annoyance from her. Hoping that was in reluctant agreement, I shot out a quick ember.

The alakazam just sidestepped to avoid it, "Come on, now! Make it interesting!" He ordered us. The shadow ball he stopped grew in size. Now nearly five times larger, he shot it towards me. He snapped his fingers and two more shadow balls on either side of him flew at me as well. I inhaled sharply, jumping as high as I could to dodge. "Too simple!" He cheekily informed me, pointing up. His attacks followed his command, throwing themselves up at me.

I kept charging up my fire blast and used fire spin from my tail in order to protect myself. I groaned in pain, being unable to block the whole brunt of the attack. Noticing Mai had launched another shadow ball, I sent my fire spin towards it. Now glowing red with heat, our moves increased in speed.

Just as it was going to hit him, he teleported a few feet away to dodge and my cheek twitched almost into a smirk. "How's this for interesting!" I screamed, launching the hottest fire blast I could. I quickly focused on a disable, getting it just in time. His calm demeanor broke for a second as he failed to teleport again. Panic filled his face as he crossed his arms to protect himself. As my attack hit an explosion erupted, nearly blowing me back. Sand filled the air, obstructing our vision.

_Since when has my fire been this strong? I'm still so much weaker, though._

"Holy shit, Ruby! You're incredible!" Mai called out. I turned to her, unsure of whether or not I should tell her I had no idea that would actually work. It was then that I noticed she was bleeding from her head. I must have hurt her when I tackled her out of the way earlier.

_I won't let my weakness get her hurt anymore!_

I bit my tongue, turning back. "Stay on your guard!" Until I saw him unconscious or dead, I refused to calm down. I tried to focus. The sand made it difficult to see anything in front of us.

"What do you mean?! There's no fucking way he survived that!" Mai began to walk towards me.

I caught sight of something bright, confirming my fears. "Wait! Mai!" A psybeam shot out, coming right for me. I had just enough time to deflect it. I built up a quick ember.

"R-Ruby!" Mai screamed. I glanced over to find another psybeam that was directed at her. _If it doesn't kill her, it'll seriously hurt her!_ I whipped my head around and threw my attack in front of her instead, just barely managed to block the attack. I tried to jump out of the way of the other one. The beam hit my side, I screamed out in pain as I was thrown a few feet away.

Alakzam's outline appeared as the sand finally began to settle down. "Ahahah! I haven't felt anything like this in so long! This.. this burning! My skin's even melting away!" He cackled as he came into focus and the sickening smell of burnt flesh assaulted my nose. His arms, chest, and face were covered in burns. "I'd have never thought some random vulpix would be able to make me feel so alive!"

The burns on him started to bubble. My eyes widened as I watched them heal before my very eyes. Whatever it was, it was so much stronger than using the move recover. His wounds were actually sealing and fading away! Like they never happened! "Your name! It's Ruby, like the pseudo-legend, right?! I've heard stories about her strength. I considered most of what I heard to be rumours. But now!" He faded for a second, only to appear right in front of me.

I built up some fire as fast as I could, but before I could release it, he grabbed me by the throat. "A-Ahh!" I choked out the fire I had prepared, coughing up smoke. He squeezed my neck unbearably tight, pulling me up into the air.

"Ruby, no!" Mai screamed out for me and shot a shadow ball at Alakazam. It hit his head and he didn't even flinch.

His unnerving smile grew. I desperately tried to claw at his hand. It was getting hard to breathe. "M-Mai.. Run.." I managed to say between gasps and coughing.

Alakazam's eyes flashed as I felt him try to invade my mind. I couldn't focus enough to fight it or use extrasensory to protect myself. "I thought you were only a distant family member, or even her daughter or granddaughter. However, that doesn't explain how you have memories of defeating the legendary Dialga." His breathing was starting to get erratic. "This explains your fire!"

He popped his neck nonchalantly. "But how? How are you alive? How are you so young? You seem confused, too. You have no idea, do you? Why you're suddenly so weak."

_Please… Please just let us go. She doesn't deserve this._ He ignored my current thoughts and dug deeper, eliciting a cry from me as the pain only grew. My only hope at this point is that Mai runs, seeing how outclassed we really are. Or maybe even someone swooping in at the last moment to save us.

"There's more, but it's as if there's a wall preventing me from seeing it." His eyes flashed brighter and my head started to feel like it was going to explode. I screamed out my lungs, the pain was so intense I couldn't even get my paws to fight his grasp anymore. Not even noticing all the shadow balls hitting the Alakazam in the back. "This is amazing! The amount of information I've never seen before, all wrapped up in this cute little skull of yours. I can do without that though. What interests me more is your fire… your heat." I squirmed in his hold.

"Let her go! You're hurting her!" Mai screamed as she tackled his side, bouncing off of him. He glared at the eevee with a mix of hatred and annoyance. His grip just barely loosened. I took my chance and wrapped my tail in flames and swiped him in the stomach.

"Gah!" He groaned as he dropped me. I tried catching my breath, rubbing my paws over my painfully sore neck. He recovered way too quickly. Slowly walking towards me. "More.. Burn me more." He begged. I glared, trying to build up flame again. I didn't even know how to respond to his "fetish" or whatever it is. I just wanted to hurt him.

"Leave her alone!" Mai tried to tackle him again.

He grabbed her by the head right before she hit. "You're irrelevant." He said not glancing at her.

"Mai! No!" I screamed. She was left dangling helplessly by his grip. The movement was so quick, I couldn't even tell what happened at first. I shrieked as I heard the sickening snap. Mai stopped flailing and the Alakazam dropped her body.

She landed on the sand, her neck twisted at an impossible angle. "M-Mai..." I began to hyperventilate. Blood gurgled up from the sides of her mouth. Her eyes gazed into mine in absolute horror. I cried out, words failing me. The life in her eyes slowly faded away and everything in my head blanked.

Time felt like it slowed down. Alakazam antagonized me as he stepped closer, but I didn't hear a word of it. I watched Mai's chest rise and fall much too quickly. Her eyes were a very pretty ice blue. I hadn't even noticed that before. Her ears and tail twitched as her body slowly fell still. I howled in misery.

_I didn't want this. I barely even knew her, but… I felt as if I had just lost so much more than a new friend. She should still be alive... It's my fault she died! I asked her to stay with me. I should have tried harder to get her to run away._

_Mai didn't deserve this. It isn't fair. This isn't fair! _My grief slowly replaced itself with anger. Pure fury filled the pain in my chest. Colours faded away and I grasped at my head felt like it was going to explode, my body felt hot. It was getting hotter and hotter. I growled, tearing my eyes from Mai's broken body to glare at Alakazam. "You monster…"

He scoffed. "I gave the Eevee a quick death, it could have been much worse. Yet I'm labeled a monster?" He rolled his eyes. "No matter, I'll be taking you for your inner flame, not your opinions. Experiments always go better when only one party is in the possession of a tongue, after all." He stepped forward and I felt him try to enter my mind to inflict a hypnosis. I bit my tongue hard enough to draw blood. I hadn't even noticed how my tails were growing longer, or how my fur felt like it was on fire. A blinding light emanated from me as my body got taller than before.

He looked surprised, but immediately reacted by launching a shadow ball at me point blank. One of my tails flicked forward and I only saw a red line whip through the shadow ball, dissipating it. Blood poured down onto the sand as Alakazam's arm flew up into the air. His eyes widened as all the pain from his new wound shot through him. I realised I had just evolved, now I was a Ninetales. I scowled at him as all of my tails began to whip forward. "**I'm going to rip you to fucking shreds!**"

_Shlick_

In a flash my vision was suddenly upside down, a few feet away. The Alakazam's arm that had been cut off was now reattached and outstretched over the body of a ninetales… missing its head.. "It's regrettable, as much as I want you, I won't risk failure." He said coldly. The body slumped over and hit the ground. Tears took over my sight as I fell, hitting the ground. He grabbed my body and the Lopunny's before teleporting away, leaving Mai and my head. Darkness overtook me once more.

_I'm sorry Mai. If only… If only I was stronger._

...

...

**_You can change this. Only you can do this. Please don't give up._**

* * *

I screamed out, grabbing at my chest. My breathing was erratic. My eyes opened and I found myself before my grave again. The sun is nearing its highest point. I gasped for air as I looked around. The imposing Lucario and Vulpix statues standing resolute before me. _I'm back here… I'm a vulpix again?_ I heard fast footsteps coming up the stairs. My eyes widened as I saw Mai reach the top step with a bag of food in her mouth. "M-Mai?"

Her ears dropped as she whimpered, almost shaking. "Ruby…" We ran to each other and I hugged her tightly, bawling into her fur. "How?" I shook my head. I had no answers for this.

_What is this?_


	3. Only you can do this

**Chapter 3**

**Only you can do this**

* * *

"How?" Mai weakly asked in my ear. I cried out, shaking my head into her fur. I didn't know what to tell her. She whimpered, the section of my fur that she was resting against was now damp.

I felt like a complete idiot. I grew complacent towards the idea of dying, I actually thought I wouldn't care if I died again. Every strand of fur on my body felt like it was standing on end. My heart was filled with dread. I couldn't stop myself from shaking.

My back claws were digging into the ground to somehow calm myself. I've had opponents out for blood before, but that… monster was something else entirely.

"He was hurting you." she whimpered again,"I-I tried to tackle him, but I was so scared. Then… then…" I squeezed her tighter. "It hurt so much. I could barely see you. Everything faded away and this pressure… It felt like it was tearing me apart. Did I..die?"

I dipped my head, sniffling. I couldn't shake away the image of that Alakazam standing above her crumpled up body. "I died too…" I felt her flinch. "After you. I-I was so furious… I actually evolved. Before I could really attack him, he killed me."

She pulled away from me. She scrunched her face up in thought, her face still damp. "Why are we alive then? How?" Her voice sounding more confused than frightened now.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to calm down. "I'm not sure." I looked at my surroundings. It was noon again. We were all alone next to Lyn's and my grave, like before. "Do you remember anything after..?" I glanced over and noticed the bag she had dropped at the stairs again. "You went out for berries again?"

She turned her head to the bag for a moment. "I… no? After the dying thing happened… I remember being somewhere dark. So dark I couldn't even see my nose. I-I couldn't breathe. My body wouldn't move at all. I tried desperately to reach up and grab my neck, but I couldn't move at all. I was so scared."

She grabbed the fur of her chest. "My lungs were burning. I couldn't breathe at all and my paws got really cold. I started losing feeling in my legs and tail. Then I started coughing and gasping for breath. The bag was already in my mouth and I was on the path below. Even now, I can still almost feel that aching in my chest." She shook her head in disbelief. "I heard you scream, so I ran up here as fast as I could."

I found myself looking over in the direction of the beach. From what I could see, no one was there. Definitely no dead bodies at least. "What is this?" I mumbled to myself, before turning back to Mai. "Have you noticed what time it is?"

She squinted her eyes at me, confused by the question. "Wh-What? It's-" She looked at the sun and froze. "It should be almost night, but it's only midday. What's going on, Ruby?! We die and time skips? We couldn't have just been knocked out."

I shook my head. "I don't think that's exactly it. We were definitely dead. My head was detached from my body…"

"What?!" I flinched as she shouted out. She marched over to me, lifting my head with her paw.

I was embarrassed as my head was now craned upwards, forced to look at the cloudy sky. I felt her move the fur around my neck with her paws. "Y-Yeah. It was after I evolved too, but here I am as a vulpix again. In the same time and place as when I woke up before we went to the guild."

She pulled back again after not finding any wounds or scars. "You... You aren't saying that we somehow got sent back in time, are you? That's insane."

I sighed, nodding. "It is. But, what else could explain what's going on? Considering everything that happened. We should absolutely be dead, but we're not. The day somehow reset itself."

She groaned. "There has to be a better answer. This sort of thing doesn't just happen for no reason!" She covered her face with a paw, thinking for a second before meeting my eyes. "Unless... You are like a hero of time or whatever."

I shook my head. "Lyn and I never got any powers like that, nor any favours from Dialga that I know of. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have died back then."

"But.. You did die before, didn't you? Was it like this?"

I took my time to answer, trying to think. "Mmmm… No." I whined out, upset about how any of this conversation makes sense in the first place. "The time before I met you, time didn't reset. I was sent into the future for some reason. Even the period where I guess I was technically dead was different. My last moments were a little more gruesome this time around, but the moment before I woke up was easier. Not drowning probably helped that."

She shivered, "That was fucking terrifying, though!" She shook her head wildly. "Is that really the afterlife? It can't be…"

"I.. couldn't say. We're alive now, though. Somehow…" I suppressed the urge to tell her about my mirror self. This was hard enough to believe as it was.

_That voice… "You can change this. Only you can do this. Please don't give up." was what it said. Was it my other self? The voice itself was unfamiliar. Did someone help us? Who? Why?!_

"There's no way this is anything short of legendary intervention!" Mai piped up with a surprising amount of vigor. "Are you sure Dialga doesn't have something to do with this? Most of his power is messing with time, isn't it?"

I sharply inhaled, remembering the only demonstration of power I got from Dialga were kicks to my midsection. "I can't really rule it out, so it's possible. It might explain how I got blasted into the future and how my new partner had her day reset, too. There's still so much missing, though." I groaned at the headache starting to form. "Even if all of this is somehow true, it doesn't make any sense! Why me? Why?!" I screamed out in frustration.

Mai met my questions with an uncomfortable silence, avoiding my gaze. I sighed, dragging a paw down my face.

"You know…" She stepped closer. "If we're the only ones with memory of what happened, or will happen anyway. we can change it. We can avoid dying."

_Did she hear the voice, too?_

"It's probably best to keep this to ourselves, Mai. As well as my actual identity." I told her, reminding her of when we met the Bisharp.

"Right. Sorry about that." She gave a weak smile. "Wait!" She piped up, hope filling her heart. "Does this mean Hapi is still alive?"

"The Lopunny?" she nodded fervently. "I think she died only a moment before we got there. Otherwise that Alakazam would've probably been long gone. Also, I don't see anyone along the beach right now."

Mai looked over to the shoreline, too. After scanning it with a disturbed expression, she turned back. "So we can save her! We know where it's going to happen, and even when it'll happen! We should warn the guild!" She turned to the stairs, getting ready to run to the guild.

"Hold on, Mai!" I tried to stop her.

"What is it?" She sounded impatient. "We have all we need to save the Guildmaster!"

"What if the guild doesn't believe us? We don't really have any proof. And if we barge in there, saying we died and got shot back into the past. It won't go over very well."

She brought up a paw, as if to counter my point. "If we can't get help, all we have to do is get there before Hapi dies. You and her could beat that Alakazam easily if you teamed up!"

"I'm not sure if that'll be the case." I stretched my legs. "I can't exactly guess how strong 'Hapi' is, but even if she's around my… level, He killed her once already. It might've been by surprise, sure. But even then.. it didn't feel like Alakazam was truly trying against me. He barely used his psychic abilities, and the few others of that evolutionary line I've dealt with in the past relied heavily on their psychic abilities."

I shivered as I recalled his grin while his burned away skin just grew back.  
"The way he healed those wounds. It wasn't natural. He cut off my head faster than I could process what was happening. We can't assume that our deaths will reset the day again either."

"W-We still have to try.." Mai was obviously disheartened by what I said.

"We will." I assured her. "We just need a plan. Getting help from the guild comes first, though. We have to think of something that they'd believe." I walked after her, now going down the stairs."

"Should we really be taking our time like this? We should run as fast as we can!" She impatiently whined. She looked very antsy, and she had plenty of reason to be.

"Normally I would, but we can't exhaust ourselves. Also we don't want to rush on the off chance we somehow run into that monster early." I tried to hide the fact that I was worried.

_Even with help could we win this? If all we had to do was survive, then we could just avoid the beach, but then the Lopunny would die. Mai seems close to her, I don't think I could convince myself to not try to to save her anyways._

Mai huffed as she took her place by my side, matching my stride. "I guess you're right." Her hackles were still slightly raised, but she had calmed down considerably. She mumbled, "You're sounding more and more like a hero who defeated a legendary now."

My face grew hot and my tails meekly wagged. I looked away, pretending I hadn't heard. "Do you know how strong the Guild members are? A majority of our Guild members were novices and in training. Not many of them were a level over twenty. Other than Lyn, Wigglytuff, and Chatot, I guess." _It didn't help that Lyn and I took almost every mission for ourselves._

"I couldn't really tell you." She flicked her eyes all around, probably looking for an Alakazam to strike at any moment. "They all keep to themselves. I'd say they're probably not all novices, though. Hapi isn't super patient about weakness. I only know Hapi and that Bisharp because of the few attempts I've made at joining the guild…" Her voice fell quiet and sheepish.

I looked from one building to the next as we passed them. Like last time, not much was happening outside at all. "I was meaning to ask you about that. Is joining the guild really that difficult? How did these mock battle 'tests' with the guildmaster go for you?"

Mai sighed. "It's not like it's impossible. No matter how much it feels that way. You're probably not expected to win, just make a valiant effort or something. After all, guild members have to start somewhere. They don't jump right in being as strong as the guild leader."

She groaned as she looked at the sky. "I've attempted joining the guild a few times, each time with a different partner. You actually don't need to join with someone else, I just didn't have the heart to face her alone. I think Hapi could tell. Looking back, it's pretty embarrassing how I'd blindly attack her and almost forget about the fact that I had someone fighting with me. After all, nothing helps show you all your mistakes as much as giving up on your dreams does."

"Who were the other partners? Friends?"

"Hmph…" She sighed even harder than before, watching her paws as she kept pace with me. "I doubt they'd use that word anywhere around me."

I walked closer to her. "What do you mean?"

"Would you call someone who used you a friend?" My step faltered, surprised by the question. She still refused to look at me.

"I-I see. So when the Bisharp from before asked if you tortured another male to join you…" I trailed off, uncertain of how to continue.

"I just don't get along with males very much." She sped up her trot, now slightly ahead of me. "I've always been a little..obsessed about joining the Guild. Because of that, I never really got along with other pokemon my age. The males were the worst, though."

Her tail was twitching with agitation. "Almost all of them were more interested in getting some tail than being friends. Some were much older than me, too. So I sorta gave them a deal."

I watched her with concern as I sped up to her side. "Please tell me you didn't let them-"

"No, no!" Mai shook her head with a stifled laugh. "I never planned on letting any of them actually do anything with me. I only promised them a date. I always planned to drop them right after I got into the Guild. Hapi would take us on each and every time. I think she just enjoys fighting, even though the battles were so one-sided."

She chuckled darkly, thinking back on those not very pleasant memories. "I always blamed them, even screamed at them. The last time was the worst. I did something awful… If everyone didn't hate me before that, they certainly did after." Her tail dropped, now being dragged against the ground.

_Did I push this too far? _"It can't have been that bad.."

"It really was. It's my fault he's dead now." I flinched at how calmly she told me this.

"Oh." I hoped that she would elaborate, but she stayed quiet. We stopped near the middle of the opening that the guild was in.

"Well we're here. What's the plan?" She finally looked at me again with a frown, sadness still reminiscent in her pale blue eyes.

I mentally berated myself as I realised I completely forgot to think of a plan. "Ah, right… hold on." I clenched my eyes closed trying to think. My paw rested against my forehead, as if I was trying to push an idea into my head.

_What do we even tell them? We could just lie and say there's someone hurt on the beach or something. Suspicious people walking around? Their mission boards are literally full of missions, what if he just writes it out and sticks it to the board? _

_How much time do we even have left? We spent about the same amount of time eating that we spent being freaked out this time around. We talked to the Bisharp… then the bank and the walk home. With that we were too late to save the Lopunny. Oh god, I'm wasting time just thinking, why on earth did I only walk here? We're low on time and I have no idea what to do! What would Lyn do?!_

My breathing grew erratic as I began to panic. Realising that I was panicking made me panic more. Something cold pressed onto my nose and I jumped, gasping. Mai's face was right in front of my own. "Ya alright?" She asked, pulling her nose away from mine. "You look like you're freaking out a bit."

I stepped back to get some space. "S-Sorry… Just trying to think."

She frowned. "Well, we don't really have time for that. So, we're going to have to wing it." She spun on her front legs and pranced to the door of the guild, swinging it open.

"Wait! Mai!" I chased after her. We ran inside, stopping at the desk the bisharp sat in.

Like before, he glanced up to us, before slowly setting his pen down in the crook of his book. "Welcome back, Mai. You haven't tor-"

"No time, Jeremiah!" Mai shouted, interrupting him. "You've gotta get the guild members and send them to the beach! There's an Alakazam and he-"

"Woah woah!" This time, Jeremiah interrupted. "Slow down, Mai. Panic isn't going to help anyone."

She huffed in response, looking annoyed. "You don't understand. We're running out of time."

"Yes, I heard you the first time." He pulled out a sheet of paper. "Now, if you have a mission for the guild, you're going to have to take one of these and fill it out. I'll try to get someone on it tomorrow if possible."

I shook my head. "It'd be months before someone got to it, this is an emergency, sir." He looked at me with intense curiosity. I felt like his eyes were burning a hole into me, I wanted nothing more than to leave, just like last time. "Lives are at stake. An Alakazam is going to kill someone very soon."

"This is a very serious accusation." It was difficult to read his expression, his eyes only showed that he was probably glaring at me. "The only Alakazam within miles of here is our esteemed guest. He's a very important pokemon from the east. You can't expect me to believe this. Who's he even going to kill?"

"It's Hapi!" Mai screamed before I could stop her.

His glare moved to her and was now much more fierce. "How do you know that our guildmaster was contracted by him to escort him through drenched bluffs? He paid extra to keep this under wraps. I've got half a mind to turn you two over to the police for snooping and such outlandish accusations!" He scoffed. "The mistress killed by a pokemon who couldn't even go through drenched bluffs alone? Ridiculous."

"Please…" I pushed down my pride. "Listen to us, she's in danger." I stifled a whine as he looked back, reading my distressed face.

His eyes softened. "Look, even if someone was in danger... Half of the guild is on an expedition to the north for another escort. The ones still here already took their mission for the day and are at least an hours walk from here, if not more."

He groaned, closing the book in front of him and standing up. He walked over to a portrait I hadn't noticed before. A very well done painting of a Lopunny with an annoyed look on her face was hung behind Jeremiah's desk. "You should have faith in the mistress. She's quite strong, that I can assure you of. Not that I believe you about Alakazam of all people even considering attacking her."

"How about you?" Mai asked, her voice desperate. We really were running out of options as well as time.

He didn't turn from the portrait. "Someone must remain at the guild at all times. So, I'm sorry, I must decline."

"Damnit!" Mai shouted as she ran outside.

I started to follow after her, trying to think of a new plan. The bisharp called out to me right as I left. "I assure you, the mistress is no pushover." I met Mai outside and she was fuming.

"Pompous prick." She spat out with venom. "What do we do now? We need to hurry."

I bit my tongue again, the habit making my tongue worse for wear. "Just the guildmaster's help will have to do. Mai, would you be alright staying here and waiting for me?"

"What? No! I'm not just going to let you and Hapi fight some crazy murderer without at least trying to help!" I looked around, glad there still wasn't anybody out to hear her scream about murderers.

"Mai, It's dangerous. I don't know if-"

"Actually… I have an idea." A mischievous grin overtook her face as she headed back into the guild. "Wait here."

I sighed. _I should just go on without her… I don't think I can protect her, not from that monster. She said she had a plan? If the guildmaster wasn't already dead, she will be very soon. _I nervously padded around in a circle, waiting.

I was cut out of my thoughts by a loud boom. I raised my hackles, facing the door in fear of some kind of attack.

"Time to go!" Mai screamed around a book in her mouth as she ran out the doors of the Guild. She ran past me and beckoned me to follow. The doors were thrown open again, the Bisharp blasted through. I quickly ran after Mai after seeing the rage in his eyes.

"What did you do?!" I screamed after her. I glanced back, seeing the Bisharp sprinting comically like a human. His back completely straight and his arms swinging back and forth. Fear of his rage outweighed any humour.

"Get back here, you heathen!" he howled.

Mai gasped for air as she kept running. "I blew up that dumb painting and took his book!" My heart sped up as I saw he was gaining on us.

"Go faster!" We sprinted towards the beach. The fur of my neck raised. "Dodge!" We both jumped aside as a huge explosion separated us. He charged up another hyper beam, ready to blast us away. "It was just a painting!" I used a confuse ray on him as I kept running, hoping it'd take. The hyper beam was shot into the air above us and I sighed in relief.

"Halt! You heathens!" He commanded. "If you continue running away with Guild property, you will be arrested!"

"Guild property? I thought it was your diary or something!" Mai screamed back.

We continued running for a while until we reached the beach. Mai and I skidded to a stop and gasped for breath. Right as he reached us, Jeremiah kicked Mai a few feet away into the sand. He started towards her again before glancing forward and stopping.

At the edge of the water stood a Lopunny. She was looking out into the distance, holding something in her hands. The Alakazam was a short distance from her. She suddenly started swaying as if struck by vertigo and he teleported behind her. Mai shakely stood up from where she landed and I started running towards them. "Hapi!" The eevee screamed. "Behind you!"

The Lopunny glanced back shakily. "Mai?" Seeing the Alakazam right behind her made her jump. He suddenly looked panicked. His arm shot up as he attacked her. She fell back, dodging him. Right as her paws hit the sand behind her, she kicked him in the chin and knocked him back. By doing so, she put some space between herself and him.

"What's the meaning of this?!" She glared at him, clapping her hands onto her face to shake off the dizziness.

I reached them and stood by Hapi with my hackles raised and teeth bared. Jeremiah took Hapi's other side shortly after. Alakazam glanced between each of us. "You have no idea how many confuse rays it took to manage that! Such a wonderful opportunity.. wasted." He grinded his teeth in frustration. "No matter, this'll just make things more interesting." He shot off an instant lightning bolt, striking Jeremiah who screamed in pain.

I blasted him with a flamethrower and he gasped, the smell of burning flesh filled the air. He grinned as he stepped closer. I growled angrily as I focused on making my attack hotter. He stumbled and Hapi shrieked at him, using hyper voice and blasted him away. She dashed forward and pushed her foot into the Alakazam's neck. "What the hell is going on?!" She screamed at him. "You just tried to fucking kill me!"

He chuckled, as if unbothered by her trying to choke him. "Why yes, I did. I'm glad you noticed. Only been trying to do it since we first entered the bluffs, but you never dropped your guard. Not till I brought up that foolish Lucario."

She snarled at him. "You used my dad against me? Was everything you said a lie?!" She pushed harder against his throat. "Why?!"

He merely rolled his eyes. "Morality is a boring subject. I prefer a more physical kind of approach." He disappeared from beneath her. She just barely rolled out of the way as a lightning bolt struck the earth. Jeremiah started to charge up another hyper beam and I used a fire blast where he was going to land.

He teleported again and I cursed. I felt that familiar foreboding and jumped forward, just barely dodging a shadow ball from behind. With a roar, Jeremiah's attack ripped through the air and collided with the Alakazam.

"Arceus fuck, Jeremiah!" The Guildmaster retched at the sight.

"Any attempt at the Guildmaster's life shall be met with the same level of bloodlust." was all he replied with.

The Alakazam's left arm and shoulder were completely gone, and blood sputtered out from every bit that didn't immediately get cauterized. After a gurgling cough, he laughed harder as, just like the time I cut his arm off, a new one grew back in its place.

_How much of this can he handle?! He's not invincible is he?_

"What the fuck?!" Hapi screamed. I got ready for his next attack, trying to build up flame in my chest. He teleported away again before appearing above the Bisharp With a focus blast swallowing his fist, he thrust it down upon the dark type's head and the clang of metal rang out as his top half crashed into the ground before the rest of him.

"One down." He announced as he walked towards me calmly. I knew exactly what he'd do so I got a fire blast ready. As soon as I saw him disappear I flicked my head around and launched it. He groaned as he was hit in the chest and thrown back again.

"You…" He pulled himself up, his creepy-ass smile still as present as ever. "Your fire is absolutely frighteningly bright! Who are you?" I growled, not bothering to answer. "I thought I imagined it, but you're actually hurting me. This pain…" He rolled his neck, two shadow balls appearing in his hands. "You have no idea how much it excites me." Right before he could throw his attack, Hapi's knee collided with the side of his face and knocked him down into the sand.

"Who sent you?!" She shrieked at him in a hyper voice.

He teleported away from her. "Another siren that just has to be the center of attention." He shook his head, as if to scold her. "Sorry, my dear. Someone else has piqued my interest. So lucky day! You get to go ahead and die." A much larger amount of electric energy flared up around him as he got ready to strike Hapi down.

"Stop!" A shadow ball hit the back of his head and he released the energy, slowly turning to the Eevee that threw the attack. My heart dropped as I remembered what happened last time. I dashed toward Mai with every bit of speed I could muster.

"What was that pitiful thing?" He asked before disappearing again, making my fear a reality. His figure now standing above the doomed Eevee. "It certainly wasn't an attack, you irrelevant twat!" He grabbed for her.

"Mai!" My legs burned as my quick attack suddenly propelled me even faster. I just barely made it in time, pushing her aside and he grabbed me instead.

Clicking his tongue, he pulled me into his elbow, choking me and stopping me from using any fire. "Well then, this works too, I suppose." He turned to Mai and Hapi. "Do anything and I'll rip this one's head off." They both froze, Hapi looked annoyed while Mai was terrified.

I desperately tried to breathe. My pitiful claws did little more than scrape against him. I could only push against him with my legs, quickly finding that he was much stronger than me.

"Ruby!" Mai shouted.

"Ruby, huh? Interesting." He squeezed my neck tighter and I could only squeak in fear. He turned to Hapi. "I'll be making my exit now, Guildmaster. Be a good little girl and stop your Guild's silly attempts at gathering information. We noticed. Don't make me come back and go through with my original plan. Your head on a pike won't look too good next to your father's grave, I assure you."

"Ah!" I cried out as I thwacked his side with an iron tail.

"Gah!" He lost his grip on me and I bit hard on his arm. Right as I bit him, he managed to teleport us. I screamed, seeing that we were both now falling down the side of a cliff.

"Insolent little-!"

I hit him again with my tail, my throat being out of commission. He was now lower than me and we were both falling fast. I recognised the sharp rocks we were heading for as those right behind the cliff my grave stood on. Now we were free falling to our deaths, with him falling back first and me only a few feet above him.

Thinking quickly, I used disable on the Alakazam. His eyes widened as he realised what I did. "I hope you die!" I tried to scream, but my throat injury and the roaring winds drowned it out.

"INSOLENT BITCH!" He raised an arm towards the cliff and threw it to the other side. A massive rock dislodged from the stony wall and immediately hit me in the side before I could react and threw me far into the ocean. Everything went dark before I even hit the water.

* * *

I gasped as I came to. Everything felt heavy and painful. I glanced around, finding myself in an actual bed. Confusion hit me harder as I saw that the floor was tile and that there was a mirror facing me. Moonlight peered through the small window to my right. I was still a vulpix, but I'm in a room that looked eerily like a human's would.

_I died again? No.. This is different._

I tried to pull myself up, being hit with a sharp pain in my ribs.

"Ruby!" I jumped in fear, having not noticed the chair next to my bed that Mai was sitting in. She jumped onto the bed with me and nuzzled against the top of my head. "I- I didn't think that you'd really make it!"

I tried to pull myself up again, glad to see I wasn't missing any limbs. I definitely cracked a rib or two, though. "Mai, what happened? Where are we?" I stood up, hiding the fact that my chest was writhing with pain.

"We're at the guild, Hapi's room. I should tell her you're awake!"

"No need." The door behind Mai opened to reveal the Lopunny. "I heard you, already. Try bringing it down a notch." Her face was significantly less annoyed than last I saw her. Now sporting an indifferent expression.

"S-Sorry." The eevee pulled away from me, sitting near the edge of the bed.

"I'm surprised you can actually stand, fox. I figured you would be out of commission for at least a week. As for what happened, we were hoping you'd fill us in." The bunny pokemon stepped into the room, before sitting down in the now unoccupied chair with her legs crossed.

Mai piped up. "You bit the Alakazam guy and then the both of you disappeared!" She started to quiet down as Hapi glared at her. "Then… Then we heard a scream and saw you fly out into the ocean. The only reason we managed to save you was because Hapi is such a good swimmer."

"I just barely made it." Hapi regarded me, holding her head up with a paw. "If I was even a little slower, you'd be karp food. I'm not the one you should really thank though. Mai's the one that got you breathing again, I really only moved your soon-to-be corpse."

"Th-Thank you, Mai." My voice was absolutely ragged. I rubbed my neck as if to try and soothe it. She stared at her paws. What little I could see of her face turned red through her fur.

"It's nothing." she whispered.

Hapi brought her paws behind her head. "I wouldn't say it's nothing. It was an interesting technique though."

"Huh?" I looked back to Mai and she was even redder than before.

Hapi snapped her fingers, grabbing our attention. "Moving on, after you teleported what happened? Where did the freak go?"

"R-Right." I scratched at my chin. "After I bit him, we were suddenly falling down that cliffside. The one with the graves."

"My father's statue?" She frowned. "So the old Guild's cliff. That place is pretty popular for jumpers." She mused to herself darkly.

I hesitated, but slowly continued. "We were falling fast so I used disable on him."

"Hmph. Serves the bastard right." She interrupted again.

"Before either of us landed, he hit me with a boulder. Then everything went dark."

She nodded with my words, as if she knew what I was going to say already. "With the crazy healing ability he had, it's best to assume that he's still alive. His picture has been added to the wanted list, and I've already sent letters to the other guilds to add his picture as well."

"I see…" I sighed heavily.

_Of course he's still alive. It's just my luck that I've been alive for maybe a day and already have an insane and invincible monster wanting my head._

"On to a lighter topic, Mai tells me you two are planning on joining the guild."

I shyly nodded. Mai, having forgotten her embarrassment, padded over the bed to me with her head held up high and proud.

"It's nice to see Mai in such a good mood for once. You, however, I haven't had the chance to meet before. Are you from around here, fox? I haven't seen any vulpix or ninetales in this town for years."

I bit my lip, unsure of what to tell her. I knew the question was coming, but I still wasn't ready. "Err, I never really knew my parents. I mostly lived outside of the town near the mountains." I told her, repeating the same story I told Wigglytuff when I joined them.

"A wild, sentient fox outside of the mystery dungeons named after one of the heroes of time?" She questioned. I cursed under my breath, even more at a loss for words than before.

"It-It's just a coincidence.. I came up with the name after going into a town to the east for supplies."

"Capim?" I shrugged, hoping not knowing the name of the town might help my story. She hummed to herself with a frown. I looked to Mai for help, but she only bit her lip and looked away. "It's not the most creative of names, I'll admit. I've heard many stories about my father's partner, though."

Hapi cocked her head to the side, not entirely convinced. "It's just a tad bit crazy that the first place I meet you is on the beach. Not only that, but many of the things my father used to explain his partner seem to fit you. Soft voice, a constant pout, very bright flames... even the small nick in her left ear…"

I gasped quietly, pulling my ears back. "That's a pretty crazy coincidence."

She pointed right to my eyes. "The craziest part is that you even have the same colour eyes. 'A flickering amber that glowed in the moonlight' my dad would go on and on about it. Amber definitely isn't a common eye colour. It's usually always brown from what I've heard and seen."

_There's no way she'll find out like this, right?! Oh god, I'm panicking. If she notices, It'd be a giveaway. A dead giveaway of what? That I'm an undead vulpix from sixty years ago that was an undead human from who knows where?_

My voice was getting quieter. "I can't really say whether or not that's true. Like I said, didn't really have any family..."

She quickly shrugged. "Doesn't matter, it's not like you're really her anyways. Even if she somehow survived and they accidentally buried some other Vulpix, she'd be older than some of the elders here in town." I stopped holding my breath in relief. "I'd prefer to have someone in the family to contact if a guild member passes away, but since the both of you don't have any family I'll just have to let it go."

I glanced over to Mai after hearing that. Her expression grew dark and her demeanour changed. "It's getting late.." She suddenly said.

"Right." The Lopunny noticed her behaviour too, but said nothing about it. "Seeing as how you're able to stand, I'd like my bed back. You two can excuse yourselves for the night. In the morning, we can have the Guild entry test. After that I'd like to discuss some more. Namely, how you two even knew that I was going to be attacked."

"We can stay at my den for the night, Ruby." Mai jumped down from her seat and waited for me by the door. I gritted my teeth in pain as I jumped from the bed and met her.

Hapi flopped onto the bed behind us nearly falling asleep immediately. "You did well, for young foxes I mean." Hapi called out after us.

We left her room, finding ourselves on the second floor of the guild. We made our way down, seeing no Bisharp at the front desk. We exited the building and made the same exact walk we've done four times now. Mai stayed ahead of me and was eerily silent. I felt like I had an idea why, but I was worried that bringing it up would make things worse.

My muscles were aching with each step I took. It's been a very long day. My exhaustion creeping up on me, I felt like I could pass out while walking at this point.

Trying to keep myself awake, I got Mai's attention."Hey Mai?" She turned slightly towards me, but stayed ahead. "What happened to Jeremiah? Is he okay?"

She sighed. "He's alive. Just miffed about his helmet being almost completely smashed. He's been complaining to the Medic at the Guild about how he was knocked out right where his mistress could see."

"That's good…" I tried to pick my words carefully. "Also, about what Hapi sai-"

"You want to know why Hapi said I had no family after I mentioned my mother, right?" Mai suddenly asked, beating me to the punch.

"You don't have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable."

She nodded solemnly as we finally reached an empty beach. "It's fine, I was going to tell you before all this shit happened anyways. When I said that I wanted to tell my mother... I didn't mean it in the way you probably thought. It's my own fault for saying it the way I did. It just still hurts saying it out loud." Once we reached her den, I realised what she meant.

Right by the entrance to the den was a small, but very noticeable grave. She exhaled as she sat in front of the grave, facing away from me. "This is my mother's grave. She passed away a few years ago, she was sick."

"Oh…" I walked up to her and sat by her side, bowing my head a bit in respect.

"It's silly isn't it?" I glanced over, confused. Her eyes were watering as she continued. "Nearly four years and I just can't accept her death. I know it's a part of life, I know everyone goes through this one day… She was my best friend, nothing feels the same without her."

I shook my head. "It's not silly. Whether or not it's a part of nature doesn't make it easier. Losing your family… It's awful. Yes it's best to move on, but forcing yourself to do so only makes you bitter. Some people just need more time."

I felt odd telling her all of this. To be honest, everything about my interactions with Mai is odd. I've technically only known her a day, and now I have a good idea of what makes her tick and a good chunk of her life in general.

_Is it really my place to comfort her like this? Everything is moving so fast. I'm almost afraid of if it keeps going like this. Do I really know her as much as I think I do, though? I feel like I can at least trust her. She's my partner now._

"I know I joke about flirting or whatever, but I really respect you. I never want to overstep anything. It… It hasn't been that long I know, but I want to ask you. Are we friends, Ruby? I won't get upset if you say no." She looked into my eyes, now freely crying.

_She must've been thinking something similar to me. Like I could actually say no to her like this anyway._

I felt a pit in my stomach as I nodded. I refused to let myself cry right now. "You're my friend Mai. I promise."

"Thank you." she weakly replied. She rubbed her eyes and tried to get a hold of herself. "Would you mind if I introduced you?" She choked up a little and hiccuped.

I glanced at the blank stone marked grave."Sure, go ahead." I dipped my head in respect.

"Hi mom." She started quietly. "Sorry I took so long. I met a new friend… This is Ruby."

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, my dear 18 followers. I would say that it was the world being currently on fire with the Corona virus becoming so prevalent and my job freaking out about it, but honestly that'd be a lie. I lack drive, and motivation is hard to come by for me. I apologise for the early notification on the chapter. I was trying to force myself to get it out there. The only reason I finally got around to fixing this was because of my lovely wife being as supportive as she can. I'll try to be better about this, and hopefully have the next chapter up sooner. Till next time.**


	4. Team Ashes

**Chapter 4**

**Team Ashes**

* * *

"Slippery son of a bitch!" Lyn roared as he once again struck the earth, missing a force palm on our target. He received only an angry hiss in response as an iron tail struck his chest and threw him a few feet away. The Riolu grabbed his shoulder before pulling himself up and glaring at his attacker.

"Careful, Lyn!" I shot an ember at the intimidating Arbok and ran to my partner's side without even looking to see if my attack hit. He groaned before shaking himself off. "He's got the type advantage here, speed too."

The blue canine growled. "If my attacks are less effective, then I'll just hit him harder. Simple as that."

I choked on a fire attack, coughing some smoke. "Th-That's not how it works!" I glanced at him incredulously. My concern only grew as I saw the seething hatred that bored holes into the thieving snake's skull. "Lyn, work with me here."

_I have to snap him out of it. He's wanted alive, anything less might as well be crime __in itself. _

"Remember our practice fight with chatot?"

He snorted, letting out a short laugh and breaking out of his irritation towards the Arbok. "I don't think now's the time to be reminiscing, Ruby." The Arbok flitted his tongue as he scanned his surroundings for an escape. He grew more frustrated as he realised just how cornered he is. He took a more aggressive stance, apparently deciding on chancing a battle against us.

The fire in my chest spiked as I prepared my attack. "Just get ready. We're recreating your stupid plan."

He chuckled again, "Never would have thought you'd actually suggest it, let alone forgive me."

I rolled my eyes as I joked back, "Never said anything about forgiving you. I'm expecting several gifts before you can even consider being forgiven."

Our enemy hissed again, "Lasst chance on dropping thiss mission and going our sseparate wayss." Each "s" he pronounced lasting annoyingly longer than the rest.

"_Ssssscum_" Lyn drawled out as if teasing him. I inhaled sharply, unsure if that was insensitive or racist in some way. I sighed, trying to drop my preconceived notions of when I was human.

"Now!" He crossed his arms above his forehead and I jumped up, landing with a flourish right where his arms met. With all his force, he threw me into the air. I nosedived as best I could to spin and released my flames. I grit my teeth as I saw the snake's confused eyes only on me. Lyn had already dashed towards him. My fire enveloped me as my spinning picked up speed, now going straight for our foe. Before he could react, a punch met his jaw and knocked him up slightly. Just in time for my body to crash into his.

After coming to a stop, I had to push myself off the ground. My new body was still not that high of a level so I quickly grew exhausted. Turning myself I was glad to find a very unconscious snake underneath my cocky Riolu friend.

"Can't call a plan stupid if it works." He shot me a smirk.

I clicked my tongue, looking away. "Just tie him up or something."

He pulled some rope from his pack and stood above our target. "Err…" He looked at me, scratching his head. "I didn't really think this far ahead, you got any ideas? His body's a bit.. different than I'm used to."

I frowned, "I don't know! Just like.. roll him up or something. Then tie him up."

"Hmm…" He held a paw under his chin as he circled the Arbok to figure out his game plan.

Our walk home was an interesting one to say the least. Taking my words to heart, he rolled the snake into a spiral before tying it all off. I had to walk beside Lyn as he rolled the snake like a tire. Each time the Arbok's head went under he elicited a moan of pain, causing Lyn to laugh to himself almost every time.

By the time we got back, I started to worry that we might accidentally kill our target with a concussion or something. I'm still not used to how much it really takes to kill a Pokemon. Hell, they can heal a scratch in a matter of minutes with the right berries. My partner comically rolled our target right up to a very concerned Magnezone. He handed us our reward as he sent some Magnemites away with the snake.

We walked off with our reward to the Guild, ready to get some rest. "You know, you could at least pretend like you're happy." Lyn pointed to my face. "Wigglytuff's even called us incredible with how fast we're improving and yet you always look bored."

I scrunched up my face in annoyance before glaring. "I am 'happy'! What do you mean?"

He flipped around, walking backwards to keep pace as he looked closer. "Are you sure?" I spat some fire towards his feet and he quickly jumped back. "Okay, okay! I'm just saying." He gave me more space and turned back around, now walking with his hands behind his head. "It's difficult to tell. You don't really smile much. To be honest, the most expression I've seen you have was when you were spooked back when I met you on the beach. Which, by the way, still haunts my dreams. Other than that, all I get is glares."

"Hmph." I didn't reply. Obviously, I was freaked out back then. I couldn't be too upset with him, he's right. It was mostly the same when I was human too. Not that I couldn't smile or anything, it just always felt unnatural to force my face to do anything else. I figured any expression I really needed would just come naturally. Which it did do at times.

"You really are something else, Ruby. I mean that in a good way, too. At first I thought you were just arrogant and looked down on everybody." He chuckled to himself. "Now, of course, I know that couldn't be further from the truth. I've never met a more patient 'mon. It's probably because of you that a majority of our rescues don't end in them being completely scarred. Most of the young Pokemon in town absolutely adore you, you'd make a good mother one day." My face grew hot as I rolled my eyes.

_Why would someone just say something like that?! Why is he acting like that's a completely acceptable thing to say? Every single time I start to feel like I'm getting used to this, Lyn throws another curve ball to confuse me. I swear he's doing it on purpose!_

_I lost any chance I had at being a parent when I died and somehow became a Pokemon. It's not like I'd ever consider starting a family like this, right? I mean, I've been getting used to this body pretty well these last few months, but it feels.. off to actually think about a future as this. I lied to Lyn about wanting to find a way to turn back, I knew there was no possible way. My human body is dead, there's no coming back from that. _

_I was beyond lucky to somehow be reborn, despite it being in an unfamiliar body with all my old memories. I sure as hell didn't deserve it. I've had the same nagging thought keep me restless for multiple nights lately. Should I just forget who I was?.. Who I am, I meant…_

_Who am I?_

I bit my tongue and tried to shake my head of these thoughts. The pit in my stomach only grew as I tried to remember my human life. Things were missing. How much? I didn't know. I was obsessed with someone... I can't remember who. I did some awful things just to get his attention. All in vain, I'm sure. Those last few moments. The insane storm destroying everything. So many people died, and I was on the wrong side.

I remembered the boy I was supposed to be fighting against. I ignored the orders after seeing just how much devastation we caused. I even tried to help him control the orbs. I failed and after an attack from the massive fire legendary, I was thrown into a cave and pinned beneath a boulder. I couldn't move, my other pokemon that were in their balls around my waist were also crushed.

The boy actually ran in and tried to save me. I knew it was too late so I yelled at him to leave, to save the others. Of all the things he could've done, He said he wanted to go to the contest hall with me after all this was over. He cried as he ran, pulling his white hat down to dry his face.

After that I was left alone with my partner, a ninetales that had been with me since the beginning. She looked so sad. I yelled at her to leave, too. The earth beneath me shook and I knew the cave we were in wouldn't last much longer. I begged my Ninetales to leave me, but she ignored my pleas and wrapped her body around mine. I could feel her shaking with fear, I didn't understand. I couldn't. I cried as I saw the ceiling of the cave fall apart.

I broke out of my stupor and looked at Lyn. He kept walking forward with his paws behind his head, completely oblivious to my dwelling on what was lost. I was so glad to meet him. He made things feel real. He made the future feel a little less uncertain. I don't know about starting a family, though. I wasn't sure I could get past the fact that I was doing something like that with a Pokemon.

A shiver went down my spine as I remembered the big thing Riolu and Lucario are known for. Reading auras. He could probably feel my little freakout a moment ago. "H-Hey.." I awkwardly started. "You didn't.. uh.."

"Come on, Ruby! Let's get back to the Guild already!'' The Riolu started running before I could ask him anything.

I started to run after him, worried he noticed and was trying to pretend he hadn't. He was running really fast, I groaned as I tried to speed up. "L-Lyn, slow down!" He acted as if he didn't hear me. His form grew smaller as he got further away. My heart started beating faster. The sky was growing darker despite it being early in the evening.

I started to panic. Something was wrong. "Lyn!" I slowed down to a stop as I looked around. My surroundings were all darkening, as if being erased. I circled around and everything, even the ground just disappeared to the darkness. "Lyn?!"

My voice echoed in my head as I kept looking around. _This isn't right! What's going on? _

"Ruby?" I gasped, seeing a blue spot in the distance calling for me. I ran as fast as I could to reach him. As I got closer, I realised he looked different. He was taller, He had actually evolved? I kept running to him, but no matter how hard I tried, it was as if this small amount of distance wouldn't close. He wasn't running away, he was standing still_. Why can't I reach him?_

"Don't leave me!" I suddenly screamed. I felt confused, but I kept running. "Please don't leave me!"

"That's rich. You're the one that left me after all." His slightly deeper voice nearly stopped me in my tracks. I choked on my breath and slowed my run to a hesitant walk.

"Lyn?" He scoffed as he finally started walking towards me. I felt relieved as the distance finally started to lessen. A small bit of fear also hit me, but I couldn't understand why. There was no reason to ever be afraid of Lyn.

"What exactly did you expect, Ruby?" He was growing closed and I froze at the question. I felt so confused. As he finally reached me, I looked up to him with worry. His eyes… were angry. He reeled his leg back.

I screamed as he kicked me, I scraped against the ground as I looked back to him, tears freely falling now. "W-Why?"

"WHY?!" He ran at me and kicked me again. "Why the fuck do you think?! Did you think I'd never find out? How you just stopped trying and let Dialga beat the shit out of you? It's your own damn fault you died. You abandoned me!" He kneeled down by me and picked me up by the throat.

I cried out in pain, unable to breathe. He lifted his fist and started punching me. "I never got over you! I never found love in someone else! I thought you were the one! I thought we were destined for each other!" He hit me between each sentence. I could only cry as he bludgeoned me more and more.

"I never accepted your death! I wanted a family with you! I begged! Begged to have you back to any god that would listen! I would have given anything!" The pain was unbearable, I felt like I was about to faint. "Then I finally FINALLY got to the end of this damned life. I was actually excited to see you again, Ruby! Then I find out you're fucking alive again? What do I do with this information?!" He threw my damaged body away from him like I was trash. "You disgust me, Ruby."

I coughed out some blood, leaving a mess on the completely black ground. I tried to curl up into a ball to hide my disgusting body from view.

_What the fuck is wrong with me? He was completely right. This is all my fault._

I heard his footsteps get closer and I only tensed, expecting more pain. Something wet hit me and I looked up. He was crying, his head down as each tear hit my bloodied fur. "This is all wrong. R-Ruby.. I'm so sorry."

I tried to pull myself up, but failed and hit the ground again. I could only look into his eyes, every attempt at speech failed.

He sighed deeply as his eyes darkened. He kicked me away again. I looked at him in fear. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't run away. "Now you're alive again." He spoke quietly, "You're alive and joining the Guild again. You'll go on to have more adventures without me. With some random and lonely orphan trying to replace me." He hesitated and his words grew soft again. "The only thing I can feel anymore is hate, and disgust. You don't deserve this, Ruby. Remember that."

I saw him turn around and start walking away. I whined out as loudly as I could. "M.. ever..th..ng" I choked out.

He didn't even turn his head. "You aren't shit to me anymore, you freak." I cried and pulled myself into a ball again as I wanted nothing more than to die right then and there.

_I should just die._

* * *

I coughed myself awake, tears pouring down my cheeks. I felt a pat on my side and noticed that Mai was lying down next to me. She rubbed my back as my coughing calmed down. "Mai?"

She sighed and quietly replied. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep, then I saw you were having a nightmare so I came over. I hope you don't mind" I looked away. I was still in the bed of grass Mai said I could sleep in. The room was still dark, I must not have slept very long. We were in the room separated from the rest of the den Mai had called her bedroom. It was just a small room with two beds of grass on either side and a hole in the wall going outside.

"Nightmare, right…" I hiccuped and rubbed my eyes with a paw to try and dry them. The pain in my side seemed like nothing compared to what I felt in that "dream" if I could call it that.

"We can talk about it if it'd help?" The Eevee started petting my fur, trying to get me to relax.

I hiccuped again and shook my head. I couldn't relive that again. "I-" I choked on my breath and a short jet of fire shot out of my mouth. My dry throat burned from my fire suddenly forcing itself out. "Need water.." I pushed my legs out beneath me and stood on very shaky paws. I felt like I was about to throw up. I slowly made my way out of the room.

My head was filled with a haze of what I could only call distress. Despite the dark cave, I could still see just fine. I padded over to the trough of drinking water Mai had. I tried to just lower my head, but my body gave out and I fell with my head landing into the water. It splashed onto the rest of me, and I ignored the discomfort fire-types normally felt being submerged in cold water.

I gave up on trying to support myself and just took a drink of what I could. My nose was still above water so I could breathe. I did everything I could to keep my mind empty. Thinking about that… dream would only make things worse. I tried to ignore it, but there was some kind of pulse feeling in my chest. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Are you okay?" I heard Mai's voice ask me from behind me. I only gave the slightest of nods as I took another drink. I wondered if drowning hurt, I was unconscious when I almost drowned yesterday. I was disrupted as I felt something push against my fur. It felt familiar.

"Mai?" I pulled my head up and water poured out from my now heavy fur as I turned to her. She kept licking my fur clean despite my very concerned expression.

"Your fur's filthy, Ruby. Sorry I didn't think about how badly you might've been hurt yesterday." She looked up to me with determination in her eyes which only confused me even more. "If I noticed, I would've helped earlier." Her tongue brushed against my rump again and my whole body shook as I pulled away.

"M-M-Mai.." My inner fire felt like it was about to explode. I tried to release a little in a short stream to calm myself. Water dripped from my muzzle to the floor. She cocked her head. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"Cleaning your fur. What do you mean? It's what friends do for each other. Right?" Her face suddenly flared red. "R-Right? It's a thing friends do all the time! Right?" She looked away with a paw covering her face. "Th-That's what I thought friends do... They help each other. Oh Arceus. I didn't just violate you, did I?"

"Ah.. um.." My awkwardness only skyrocketed as I realised I wasn't sure either. I had mostly washed my fur with water, Lyn showed me how to clean myself without water since he knew I was human, he even helped a few times when I couldn't, but I thought it was because...

"I haven't had many friends. I-I guess I just assumed, but I really thought it was normal. I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries…"

_Did I really not have any friends other than Lyn? There were the other guild members, but I guess we weren't super close or anything. Is this really a normal thing? Oh god, did I really focus on one guy so much that I completely disregarded making friends again?_

"Ruby?" She glanced back at me with fear in her eyes. "I'm sorry! I-I understand if you hate me for this."

I felt an almost unnatural rumble roll through my throat as I giggled. _I actually laughed!_ Mai looked worried and confused. "I don't hate you, Mai. To be honest, I really don't know if it's normal either. The only person that ever did it to me was Lyn, so I probably just guessed it was like a mate thing"

Her tail twitched erratically as she shook her head. "I'm not trying to do anything like that! I just wanted to comfort you and clean your fur... I won't do it again if it makes you uncomfortable."

I shook my head. "Mai, really. It's alright. I appreciate it. If it's a thing that friends do, well I consider you a friend so it's okay."

"Really?" She could barely contain her excitement, her tail now wagging vigorously. "You don't mind?"

I sighed, sitting down. "Of course not, Mai. Just give me a little warning next time."

She happily circled around me. "You know, you look really nice with a smile on your face."

My paw shot up to my muzzle. _Was I really smiling? _Now that I think about it, I'm more calm than before. I was actually struggling to remember the nightmare from before. I could only remember how helpless I felt. I had to feel a little appreciative towards the Eevee who was now cleaning my shoulder. _Am I really okay with this? It took me months to be comfortable with Lyn touching me._

_I haven't changed, have I? _

"You know, you're really salty. We might be better off going over to the hot springs."

_I figured my fur would be considering I was thrown into the ocean. _I turned from her to hide my heated face. _I'm also probably soaked in sweat. Waking up from that nightmare really took it out of me. What was it, though? It feels so unnatural for a dream to just fade away like that. It really affected me, didn't it?_

"So?" Mai asked.

"Hm?"

"Want to go to the hot springs before we go to the Guild?"

"Sure, but isn't that a bit of a walk from here?" I struggled to remember the last time I had gone. I always had to act as a median between a certain hot-headed Riolu and an older Torkoal. He never cared for us much.

"Oh no, there's one just down the road from the Guild now. It's amazing what a few Pokemon of the right types can do working together. The guy who owns it can be a bit cranky though, especially since we'd be there before the sun even rises. He'll get over it though."

"I think I could use a good bath, then."

* * *

The old turtle was somehow still alive! I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw him. He looked almost the same as when I met him. I knew turtles could have very long lives, but even seeing it I found myself in disbelief.

Mai had to stop me from gaping at him by pushing me towards one of the springs. It was much more expansive now, with multiple types of springs too. Some were specified for certain types, but we made our way to the normal spring and as soon as I sank into that warmth I could feel my shoulders finally relax after who knows how long.

I rested against a warm rock with Mai barely a foot away swimming in the slightly deeper water. I felt tired again. "You got any plans for fighting Hapi?" I raised my head, seeing Mai still paddling through the water.

I shook my head. "Nothing really specific. Other than the Alakazam battle, I've seen very little of what she's really capable of. Just cover your ears whenever she looks like she's about to yell. As for her physical attacks, we've gotta avoid her kicks. Punching wouldn't work well against us considering our height."

I let out a content sigh. "If she really was raised and trained by Lyn, then she's gonna know a ton of physical attacks and expect anyone she's fighting with to pick up the slack when it comes to ranged attacks. It'd explain that Bisharp's crazy hyper beams."

"Are you sure about this?" The Eevee had stopped at a part where her feet could touch the ground.

"What do you mean?"

Some bubbles rose up from her maw before she raised her head from the water again. "I'm only gonna hold you back. I know I was all excited about this, but it doesn't seem fair to just get in because I'm with you." She sunk her face beneath the surface again. Peering worriedly at me.

I flipped over and felt my back crackle all the way to my tails. I enjoyed the warmth pushing my fur around. "Like you said before, Mai. Guild members don't start out with massive amounts of experience. Things might've changed a bit since I last started a team, but strength isn't everything when it comes to being an explorer. Plus, being an explorer is one of the fastest ways to get experience, so you'll catch up with me quickly, I'm sure."

"Me? Catch up with you? You fought a-!"

"Shh!" I flipped back over and hushed her as best I could. I glanced around, glad to see that the only Pokemon nearby in the other springs were paying us no mind.

"Sorry..." She whispered. "You fought a god of all things, Ruby. I don't see myself catching up to that, even with you helping me."

"You'd be surprised. I didn't think I could handle half the Pokemon my team managed to put behind bars. I also had Lyn with me the entire time, he's always been stronger than me."

She didn't respond, but still looked down. I sighed and scratched at my ears.

"Honestly, I've been a little concerned about that lately." She met my gaze, remaining quiet. So I elaborated. "My... fire feels different. Almost as if it's unnaturally hotter. It actually hurts me a little, despite flames never having an affect on me." I thought back on our fight with the Alakazam. A shiver ran down my spine.

"That's a good thing isn't it?"

I shook my head. "Maybe, but at the same time... my body's different too." I pulled a paw in front of my face, flexing it. My almost pitiful claws are barely noticeable. "I feel sluggish. Maybe even weaker altogether. I may not be as strong as I used to be. I could keep up with everything that Alakazam did, but trying to react was draining me more and more. Before, I could've beaten a psychic type like that by myself. Probably even with his freakish healing. I could barely even protect you like this. I felt like something was off the first time, but I didn't really think about it too much. The second time it was painfully obvious."

"But you did win. Nobody died and other than you nearly drowning and Jeremiah getting knocked out, we were barely hurt at all."

"We got lucky." I lowered myself deeper into the water. "He was holding back. Something about my attacks and us showing up made him change his plans. His teleporting backfired on him when I distracted him and used disable. He could've easily just killed all of us, but something stopped him. I can't help but feel as if we're missing something. My sudden drop in strength just worries me. I could've lost several levels when I... you know."

"Excuse me!" I nearly jumped out of the water at the sudden gruff voice. A torkoal slowly made his way to the spring. Mai put herself in between us and I thankfully put myself behind her as much as possible. He got to the edge of the water, but didn't step in. He craned his neck to see me and I shyly moved myself out of sight.

Now that I could see him up close, I could tell he did look a bit different. His skin wrinkled and covered with age spots. More so than when I first met him. His whole body seemed to quiver as he talked. "Hey young ones, no need to be bashful, come on out. I'd just like a word with you two."

We were both apprehensive, but eventually we made our way out of the spring. Both of us completely soaking wet and dripping onto the colourful rocks that decorated the ground.

"Here..." He blew some steam drying us off a bit. Mai shook her fur and sprayed water everywhere. "No need to look like you're about to be scolded, you two."

I avoided eye contact and Mai groaned. "What is it, then? We were enjoying the springs."

I remembered his reactions to Lyn acting the same way and prepared to be yelled at. To my surprise, he only laughed. "I'm sure you were, Mai. Just wanted to see you two before the test later."

"How do you know about that?" I asked before I could stop myself. He glanced back to me and fear hit me as he took a second to respond.

"The Guild leader was here earlier, mentioned you two and an incident that had one of you thrown into the ocean. So I figured I'd see you here sooner or later. Especially since you're with Mai. She used to come here every day."

He stopped to reminisce about something before smiling again. "That Lopunny had quite a bit to say about you, she seems quite excited for your battle. I wanted to see if what she said was true. The little spiteful eevee that never left her mother's side finally made a friend." He said all of it calmly, as if he didn't just insult one of us.

I bit my lip worriedly. _I knew he could be a bit grumpy, but that's a whole other level of being insensitive._ I glanced at my new partner, surprised that she only looked annoyed.

"Ah shut up, you wrinkly old rock. I would've told you after the test."

"Yeah? Well, are you gonna introduce the rock to your new friend or not?" He chuckled lightheartedly.

She groaned again. "Ruby, this is the owner of the hot springs here. He... helped my mom and I a lot when we lost my grandfather."

I dipped my head. Pretending to not know him, I replied with, "Oh.. I see. It's nice to meet you."

"Ruby?" He muttered. His face fell before shaking his head. "It's a nice name. Glad to meet ya. Feel free to come by if you ever need anything."

I only nodded. Mai prodded me with her tail. "He's old as hell, but he's got good advice sometimes."

"Heh." He rolled his eyes. "I'm just glad I caught you beforehand. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear you passed only to find out that you immediately left the continent. You've only been talking about it since you first heard about the Guild."

_Leave the continent? She did mention something about travel being more common._

"I'm not sure whether I'll leave or not anymore." Mai shook her head. "I still want more than anything to see the whole world, but I couldn't just force Ruby to drop everything and leave like that."

The old torkoal muttered. "Well then, look who's finally growing up." He shook his head. "I'm sure you've got better things to do than talk to an old rock. It was nice meeting you, Ruby. I've got some business to attend to, so if you'll excuse me." He left us without another word.

"Sorry about that." The Eevee gave a slight smile. "I figured you'd have to meet him eventually, but I worried that you knew him back before the whole incident."

"It's fine. I was only worried at first. He's calmed down quite a bit in his old age. What were you guys talking about with the leaving the continent thing, though?"

She looked confused, "I thought you knew. Since the whole time breaking thing happened, many of the major Guilds around the world have been lacking Delvers. So lately, most Guilds will send any missions they're lacking the class of explorers required for to Guilds that usually specialise in that specific class."

My mind started to spin, I shook my front paws at her to slow down. "Woah... Hold on. What? What's a delver?"

She bit her lip. "Let's make our way to the Guild, I'll try to explain it the best I can."

We dried off the best we could before waving goodbye to the turtle and hitting the road towards the guild. There were Pokemon everywhere! Either mindlessly walking to their destination, or doing everything they could to get the attention of possible customers and showing off their shop.

_She wasn't kidding when she said the whole town was on a schedule._

"So you haven't heard the terms 'Hunter' or 'Delver' before?" Mai asked me. I shook my head. She sighed and gathered her thoughts. "We'll start there then. When you join a Guild, you start as a Rookie. That's the class or 'title' you're given. After a few missions and training, it'll change."

I nodded. "So what? Delvers go into mystery dungeons and Hunters focus on wanted Pokemon?"

She smiled. "You're pretty close, yeah. To be technical, all classes go into mystery dungeons for one reason or another."

"All as in there's more than those three?"

"Six in all. One to begin with, four major classes, and a title to shoot for if you're looking for fame."

I shook my head. "I don't think I need any more of that right now."

She gave a short laugh. "Delver's focus on finding and collecting rare items. They've been known to take missions to find missing belongings in mystery dungeons as well. Hunter's focus on combat. Which can be anything from being a bodyguard to, like you said, finding wanted 'mons and bringing them in to the Police. Scholars research and preserve knowledge. Mostly history, but I've heard rumours that there are some working on something called science."

"Science?" The very odd thought of Pokemon creating cars, phones, and even landing on the moon amused me a little.

"I don't really know much about it, like I said it's only rumours. Anyways, there's also Medics. Which are self explanatory. They heal all manner of wounds with mixtures of berries and roots."

"So yeah, you join a Rookie. Eventually you can specialise in either being a Delver, a Hunter, a Scholar, or a Medic. Becoming promoted from a specific class will grant you the same title, but of a higher rank. Like if you're a really good Medic, you'd become an Adept Medic."

"Who decides that you're a good enough Medic to be promoted?" I asked.

"I'm not too sure about it. Some people think it's the Guild master that decides it. But if that's the case I don't understand how someone like Hapi could change the symbol that's put on your body."

I looked down to my paws as I walked. "They put a symbol on you?"

"Yea they stopped giving out badges a while back. Some people still have them as memoirs, though. I've actually heard that the symbol is given and changed by a Legendary! If it's true though, I'm not sure which one."

"Ah… What about the sixth one, then?"

"Well, by becoming, say, an Adept Hunter, you can then start working on a different class. Becoming an adept in three of the four classes will give you the title of Ace. Usually followed by your best class. Hapi is an Ace Hunter."

"Really?" _I wonder if Lyn became an Ace too. He'd probably have to be good at medicine. I knew him well enough to know that him being a Scholar wouldn't go well._

"Yep!" Mai looked up proudly at the Guild as we finally reached it. "She says that the Delver class was the hardest on her. She had to spend a month inside a mystery dungeon to find this gate thing underground."

"That sounds-"

The doors to the Guild were opened and Jeremiah, who's helmet had a noticeable dent in the side of it now, stepped out. "There you two are! In! In!" He ushered us inside before closing the doors behind us. "You were about to be late, I was about to have to hunt you two down."

Mai made to say something, but the Bisharp walked off before she could. A Monferno sitting in what I thought was Jeremiah's desk waved and watched us as we passed. We followed Jeremiah out a side door that led to a surprisingly large arena behind the Guild. A Lopunny stood alone at the opposite end of the field.

I gasped as I recognised the pattern on the ground of the arena. Completely filled with sand, one single line splitting it in half and in the middle a circle. Just like the Gyms back in my old world. _That had to be a coincidence right?_

"It's about time you two got here!" Hapi called after us. She stretched an arm behind her head.

_This was a fucking stadium! _My heart started beating harder as I saw at least thirty other Pokemon in the stands. "Mai, I didn't know there were this many people in the Guild!"

She nodded. "Yeah, there's a few missing. Not many I know."

"N-Not many?!"

"Just so you know!" Hapi called towards us again. Looking a little annoyed at us being distracted. "I'm aware you're a pretty high level for a beginner, fox. So I'm not holding back."

I saw a few Pokemon in the stands cringe and start whispering about something. I started to worry even more.

"Ruby, did you ever come up with an actual plan?" I glanced over to her and saw that she was shaking. I looked between her and Hapi for a second before forcing myself to calm down. I took a deep breath and a jet of smooth fire poured out.

"Alright. We can do this.. Mai, you said you knew a bunch of moves, right?"

"Yea, my mom tried to teach me as many moves as she could." I whispered a question into her ear so Hapi wouldn't hear. "Yeah, I know it." I whispered again. "I-I can attempt it.."

"Good, don't use shadow ball on her, okay? It won't affect her. I received a nod in response and we stepped forward. We stood side by side and focused on the Lopunny in front of us.

"Don't disappoint me, alright?" She stepped forward as well.

Jeremiah stood on the side of the field of sand with one arm up. "We are now beginning the entry test for Mai the Eevee and Ruby the Vulpix." The pokemon behind him all looked surprised and started whispering again. The Bisharp bellowed out. "The match will begin in 3.. 2.. 1!"

Mai and I immediately dashed away from each other. Hapi ran straight for me. I growled and she hesitated for a moment, before running again. She jumped up into the air and flew straight for me, knee first. It was too fast to dodge.

I cursed at how much this is gonna hurt. I enveloped myself in fire and grit my teeth. Her knee hit my shoulder and knocked me into the ground. I quickly pushed myself up and shot a flamethrower above her waist. She crossed her arms and braced for it. I noticed several shadow balls fly into the air above us so I jumped straight towards her and swung an iron tail at her to keep her attentionl.

She easily blocked it and kicked me in the stomach again. "Don't get cocky just cause your fire is kinda toasty!"

I slid against the sand, but spit a few embers to keep her attention. Mai ran for us to join in the fight. I pushed myself up and closed my distance with the bunny. She raised her leg to kick me, but Mai hit her other foot with a quick attack and she lost balance. Before she fell I swung another iron tail into her. With the help of Mai's helping hand, Hapi slid even further away. Mai's white glow faded with the attack.

She jumped to her feet with a ferocious grin. "Now that's more like it!" I built a flame in my chest and shot a fire blast. She ducked under it with ease, now much faster than before.

"Mai, support me!" I didn't wait for an answer as I shot a flamethrower in front of me and ran straight for her. I tried to sidestep her kick, only to get thrown up into the air. I gasped in pain. Seeing her jump up to hit me again I used fire spin.

_Burn! Burn! Burn!_

She spun around and punched me right in the chest. I screamed out as I was thrown into the sand. I straightened myself out and did my best to stand. Now with an aching back and chest. Mai and I used quick attack to hit both of her legs. She only took the hit before falling back onto one of her hands and spinning, her legs hitting both of us and knocking us away.

_Damnit! Just slow down for the love of Arceus!_

I glanced at Mai and saw her struggle to get up. I pulled myself up and took in a deep breath. _I've gotta get her burned! I can do this!_ I breathed in as much as I could, feeling my flames about to explode. My tails flexed out above me and I motioned with them for her to bring it on.

Hapi cackled as she ran towards me with new purpose.

_I shouldn't have egged her on, what the fuck am I doing?!_

I held my ground as she got closer. Right as she got in range, I jumped as best I could with my limbs screaming at me to stop. I swung around but didn't use iron tail. She took the bait and tried to block it, only for me to release a fire blast right in her face.

I could only hear a loud whistle as I was thrown back from the explosion. I saw my partner standing again with a white glow from another helping hand. I breathed a sigh of relief once the sand settled and saw the Lopunny with a seared arm and leg.

_That'll do._

I looked Mai in the eyes and she nodded, saying she was ready.

"Let's end this!" She cried.

I groaned, shakily pulling myself up.

"I'm not losing that easily, fox!" Hapi screamed as she ran towards us with a limp. I ran alongside Mai before jumping to opposite sides like last time but much closer. Hapi started towards me, but blocked a quick attack from Mai before backhanding her away.

She landed on her feet. I screamed "Now!" as I swiped down upon her with an iron tail. Mai glowed even brighter than before.

"Shit!" Hapi cursed as she brought her arm up to block my attack. She laughed. "You can't scare me like that. An iron tail? You should've blasted me again." I fell to the ground and looked at the eevee behind her. "Even with helping hand, your physical attacks suck."

I bit my lip and looked behind her to the still glowing eevee. I shot an ember at her face and tried to put some space between us.

"Aaaah!" Mai screamed. Before Hapi could turn, the eevee hit her in the back of the head with her last resort move, throwing her head forward and knocking her into the ground.

With Hapi face down, both Mai and I did what we could to catch our breath.

"D-Did we win?"

The crowd cheered loudly, breaking us from our thoughts.

Jeremiah's voice rose again. "Mai the Eevee and Ruby the Vulpix win!"

We kept gasping for breath and met each other's gaze. She had the biggest smile on her face.

_We did it._

An arm wrapped around me and pulled me away. I only panicked for a moment before seeing Hapi crouched down and had both of us under her arms. "That fucking hurt, Mai."

"I- er, Sorry…" She fumbled over her words.

"Don't be. You two did it. You won. Congrats." She gave us a smile before standing and brushing herself off. "I barely even had to hold back. You two should be proud. Welcome to the guild, foxes. I expect good things from you."

For the first time, I saw her right hand. A pure white and glowing emblem that looked like a maw with sharp teeth and a perfect circle around it.

_That's the symbol Mai talked about?_

"Hope you like it, fox. Because you're about to get your own. A Rookie's mark anyway." I looked back at her and nodded.

_It's not the first time she's called me "fox" but it's like she refuses to say my name and wants to make it as obvious as possible._ I shook my head. I didn't care enough to start something about it. Mai and I followed Hapi out of the stadium and back into the Guild.

"Oh wait!" I stopped the other's before we entered another room. "I forgot something. Go ahead, I'll be right back." I ignored the Lopunny's glare as I ran out of the Guild to the Bank across the street.

Everything went just about the same as last time. The old Sandslash hesitated here and there, stared at me a bit and got me the things I wanted. She once again told me something about some paper she found with one of the items, but I was already almost out the door.

Back in the Guild, I walked into the room Lopunny was leading us to see a brilliant glow. The fire in the middle of the room, only stopped from devouring everything in its path by the golden ring around it. It was beautiful. I probably stared at it for a solid minute before Lopunny cleared her throat.

"Are you ready?" I only turned towards her and closed my mouth, nodding. Not sure what for. "Come on then, follow me." I fell in step behind her with my eyes still on the absolutely magnificent flame. It felt as if it was calling out to me. The embers flicked against the air above them, the scent of burning cinders calmed my heart. I felt like I was starting to get light-headed.

I had to pull my head away to see Mai excitedly showing me her left paw. The pure white diamond with a dim glow contrasted against her brown fur. Hapi put a long metal pole into the flames for a moment before pulling it out.

"Where do you want your mark to be, fox?" After thinking about it, I lifted my left paw so it'd be like Mai's. The moment the thing that absolutely looked like a hot poker came in contact with my fur, everything heated up.

I almost screamed from the hot metal touching me. It's the first time I've felt a burn in so long. This was something else, though. It was like every nerve in my arm was shocked. I was left gasping for breath with Mai and the Guildmaster looking at me worriedly.

_**Finally!**_

I glanced around to see who called me, but found nobody. It sounded like it came from the flames.

"Are you alright?" My eyes shot back to Mai.

"Wh-What?"

Hapi spoke this time. "You look like you've seen a ghost, you need to sit down?"

I shook my head slowly and tried to calm down. I pulled my bag back over my shoulder. "I'm.. fine I think. Just didn't expect it to hurt so much."

"It hurt you? I didn't feel anything." Mai cocked her head. "Hapi, is it supposed to hurt?"

She shook her head. "I mean, it's possible it has something to do with how you're normally immune to fire. I don't have much experience with giving marks to Pokemon with flash fire. Let's see the mark, make sure everything went okay."

I raised my left paw again, but found myself confused with what I saw. A flickering amber was emblazoned onto my paw in the shape of a sharp stone hitting another striking some small flames into existence around it that glowed brighter than the rest. _Flint and steel?_

"How the fuck are you already an Adept Delver!" Hapi looked absolutely pissed. "How did you change its colour? The colour is supposed to show which Guild you hail from." I didn't know what to say so I remained silent. She groaned and put her face in her paws. "No family, huh? Lived in the wild?" She shook her head and started to walk out the room. "Follow me."

I shied away a little, but followed behind Mai as she passed and shared a worried glance. "Jeremiah, drop the front desk on the Monferno for a while longer. Come with us." The Bisharp didn't hesitate to follow his Guildmaster's order and even ran ahead to open the door one of the staircases led up to, letting us in.

The room was almost filled up entirely with a massive desk that the Lopunny populated and told the Bisharp what happened as she started pulling things from her desk. He kneeled in front of me and asked for my paw. I felt really awkward sitting with the Bisharp examining my paw.

_At least he's gentle._

"It's as you said, Mistress. She appears to be an Adept Delver. A hell of a Hunter too, it seems." I looked at my paw again, but didn't see anything that had to do with the teeth that Hapi had. _How could he tell?_

"If I had to guess, baring the idea that she was a guild member beforehand somehow. It's possible she lived within a mystery dungeon for a time. It'd explain how her level is already in the forties."

_Forties?! That was nearly two whole years of my old life down the drain. Well, I guess all of my old life is sorta down the drain._

He looked into my eyes as if asking if he was close to the mark. I shrugged, not sure whether I should actually confirm or deny it. "If this is the case, it's quite amazing you've managed to keep your sanity about you. Most would've been ferals after just a few weeks. As for the amber glow that matches her eyes, anything I say would only be a guess."

Hapi didn't look up from whatever she was writing. "Any suggestions?"

"There's not much reason to force the normal restrictions, just make sure she's well aware that if anything happened to her less experienced team member, it would be entirely her fault since she's going to be the leader of their exploration team."

I bit my lip and nodded. I figured I was probably going to be leader again so I wasn't too shocked.

Hapi sighed and stopped writing, putting her letter into one of the drawers. "So be it. You two, what's your team name?"

Mai and I looked at each other and I just shrugged. "Whatever you want."

_Please don't make a name like Lyn._

She put a paw under her chin. "How about team Victory."

_Fucking hell._

"Can we think of a name later?"

Mai looked down in defeat and Hapi shook her head. Team Ashes?" she tried again.

"Team Ashes it is" Hapi said before I could disagree. She did a circle with one digit. "Yoom-tah. Blah blah."

_Of all the things to still be the same._

"Now, You're already free of most restrictions concerning travel and working with other Guilds, just be careful. Like Jeremiah said, it's on you to watch Mai's back and train her. We're low on rooms right now, so be patient for a bit and stay at your den. I can find you if I need you. Wait till tomorrow before choosing some mission across the ocean if you're going to, alright?

We both nodded, and with that we left, now as team Ashes. I sighed as I got Mai's attention. "Ashes as in rise from the ashes, right?"

She smiled, excitedly wagging her tail. "Yep! How'd you know."

"Just a guess." As we left the Guild, I pulled off my bag and rummaged through it for certain items.

"Oh! So you went to the Bank?"

I nodded to her question and pulled out two purple ribbons. I handed one to her. "Welcome to team Ashes, Mai."

Her grin stretched further as she nodded and took the ribbon in her mouth. I started to pick up the bag again, but stopped when I saw a square ruby glint in the sunlight. I weakly smiled as I picked it up. I felt both happy to see it and sad for what it was. I tugged on the gem and the necklace pulled a rolled up sheet of paper out of the bag. The necklace was actually tied around it. I tried to unroll it and my brow furrowed trying to read the hastily written note.

"Ruby! I can't believe you're actually coming back somehow! There's so much I want to say... I'm not sure where to start."


	5. Nothing more

**Chapter 5**

**Nothing more  
**

* * *

Ruby!

I can't believe you're actually coming back somehow! There's so much I want to say... I'm not sure where to start. I should probably apologise and explain what I can. You deserve at least that much.

I'll admit, I've been taking full advantage of Dialga's little gift. It's still hard to believe, to be honest. Whatever little doubt I had in them faded with how many times they've saved my tail.

These visions of the future are getting more and more distorted in my old age, though. When I saw you sleeping on top of your own grave, I thought that I had to be going senile! Not even a few days after, and I have a Legendary knocking at my door.

I barely got a word in as he forewarned me of countless omens and predictions. I didn't pay him much mind until he actually mentioned you. He knew about my vision and showed me some pretty awful things.

He won't tell me all the details, but you and I are apparently vessels and crucial to their plan. I have no clue how they managed to bring you back to life. I just hope you don't have to suffer for whatever this plan is.

That blue bastard of sprite had me go halfway across the world to prepare for your… arrival by finding the third vessel. He refused to allow me to bring my daughter. I had my suspicions, but after the vision I had this morning… I know why.

I'm not sure of how much I can write for you here without changing too much of what's going to happen. Hell, I'm already changing so much with my decision as it is. I know what I'm putting at risk.

I refuse to let these self righteous bastards cut my daughter's destiny short since it's "convenient" and it'll set me on some kind of war path. This can't be the way things are supposed to happen. Even now as I write this, I'm filled with such a sense of foreboding. I don't think I'm making it out of this.

I don't want to abandon you like this, Ruby. But… I can't let her die, not before me. It's time I finally retired from this hero business. I hope you'll one day forgive this old Pokemon's foolishness.

After what I'm doing, I probably deserve nothing short of hate from you. I'm sure you can find someone to replace me as a vessel. Get to the snowy continent and find Grayson. The smartass little cub is difficult to deal with at first, but he'll grow on you. I'm sure you'll appreciate his… honesty. He'll be able to help you.

I know you can do this, even without me. It's not fair to put this on you again, but please… save our world, Ruby. I know you better than anyone, you can do this.

It looks like I've run out of time. The shore is getting closer. I'll drop this off in our account with your old pendant. I'm sorry, Ruby. I wish I could tell you more. No matter what happens, I'm proud of every moment I got to spend with you. I love you so much.

Please destroy this letter after you read it. Hapi doesn't need to know about any of this.

_-A foolish old friend_

* * *

_**~Mai~**_

_Am I a bad partner?_

I pulled myself up from my bed, yawning. Across from me was Ruby's bed, which was still occupied by the Vulpix, herself. She was fidgeting in her sleep again, holding onto that gem around her neck tightly. I started towards her but stopped myself. I frowned and shook my head before leaving the room.

As much as I want to comfort her, I've gotta give her space. After taking a quick drink, I stepped outside into the brisk night air. I unconsciously reached up to check that the simple purple ribbon adorning my neck hasn't unfastened. I did it myself, but tying a knot was difficult so it looked a bit rough.

The moon was nearly full tonight. I rubbed my eyes and stopped by my mother's grave for a moment. I sighed as I spoke to her in my mind, imagining her standing before me.

_I know I told you just the other day that I wouldn't be here much longer, but I guess I was wrong. I hope you don't mind. Hapi said she was working on getting us a room at the Guild, but she doesn't seem to be in a hurry at all. We might be here till winter._

_Ruby doesn't seem to be in the mood to travel right now, either. She's not even wanting to take missions. She won't tell me what's wrong, she won't even look at me. Did I do something wrong? If you were still here, I'd just ask you what I should do... _

_I can't even make one person feel better. I feel like such a loser! I've done some really awful things. I'm so scared that I'm going to end up like __**him**_ _that I can't even think straight. I want to be like you! I'm such an idiot. Would... would you be disappointed in me?_

The Vaporeon looked down to her daughter with a sad smile. Her scarred tail gently swaying behind her as she opened her mouth to comfort the one she cares for most. If she actually spoke, I couldn't hear it. I don't even remember her voice. A single tear escaped her cold blue eyes that matched my own.

Her figure faded away as I pressed my paws against my head. No matter what I tried, I couldn't remember her voice. I'm struggling to remember what she even looked like. _I want to ask her for help, but I'm only insulting her further. _

Ruby's gloomy mood was infectious. I know I haven't actually done anything against her, but it feels like I failed her somehow. I stepped by the grave and slowly made my way up the short path that wrapped around my den to the lip above the entrance.

The wind picked up every few minutes as I tried to organise what thoughts I had. It's been a whole two days since we joined the Guild and found that letter. I didn't read it to respect Ruby's privacy, but after seeing her step on it and set it ablaze I found myself a bit worried and curious about what it said.

After that, she was almost completely unresponsive. I maybe got four words from her before she went to bed. Since then, she hasn't moved for anything short of food, water, or to relieve herself. What concerns me the most is that I can't even tell if she's sad or angry or whatever else. She won't tell me anything!

She's too hard to read. She just keeps telling me that she needs a little while to calm down, and she's constantly sleeping. Whenever she's actually awake, she's too distracted with whatever's plaguing her mind to have much of a conversation with.

Every time I try to talk to her or comfort her in any way, she looks more disturbed than anything else. I'm starting to get worried that whatever friendship I have with her is fading by the day.

_I don't want to bother her. I've been overbearing for her enough as it is. She'd been alive like a day and I shoved my life story down her throat and she let me join her team out of pity. She helped me so much in just two days. More than anyone else ever cared to, that's for sure. _

_And for what? A teammate that has no idea how to help her like this? I can't calm her down from whatever this is, I can't even distract her. I'm so weak, too. I must be the most useless partner in the world. I really suck._

"Oh, Ruby..."

I grumbled as I thought about how enamoured I am with her. It messed with my head so much. I never really thought much about the whole "girl-on-girl" thing before. I've heard of it, but my granddad called it taboo and wrong. Then she shows up and I can't stop gawking at her. Is it really so wrong?

I barely even know her. I know the stories I've heard about the heroes, but not who Ruby really is. Would things still have happened the way they did if I didn't fall head over paws for her? I might not have chased after her.

As soon as fear filled that glowing amber in her eyes, I couldn't stop myself. I wanted to protect her from all the harshness of the world. Not that I thought she was weak, apparently she's crazy strong. But... there are times where she seems so fragile. Like glass that could crack at any moment.

If I didn't feel this way, would I have actually believed anything she said? I wanted to do anything to make her as happy as she was when I pulled her from the ocean. Even if it meant going along with such a crazy claim. At this point, I couldn't even begin to doubt it though. I freaking died and came back!

Even after experiencing such a crazy thing, all I could do was worry about her. I heard her scream and my heart nearly stopped. Even thinking about it now made my tail shiver. It was almost unnatural how much I cared for her.

_Is this love?_

I never believed that love at first sight crap, it's just not believable and sounds stupid. Not that I'm super knowledgeable on this sort of thing. I never really found anyone captivating before. There's more to a Pokemon than their appearance, right?

_You can't just love someone from the way they look. Even if their fur literally shines in the sun. That beautiful red fur, and how elegantly her tails swish around in the air behind her. It's just not right to obsess over someone's appearance like that!_

_...How the fur between her ears just barely curls out of the way of her eyes. Arceus those shimmering eyes... Every time she really looks at me, I feel like I could just melt. Even her voice! She's quiet, but my tail goes crazy almost every time she talks to me. She has a really cute laugh, too!_

_Her scent was almost intoxicating. Even just a little of it makes my mind go blank, being close to her makes me feel like my brain is about to short circuit. The sweetness was not unlike the aroma of pecha berries, but it also reminded me of vanilla. _

I grabbed my head and shook it aggressively. _This isn't helping anything! This feeling was one-sided. I know that well enough. It's not fair to Ruby. She just lost so much and is constantly reminded of it. The last thing she'd consider... _

_What am I doing? My partner is probably going through hell all by herself and I'm thinking about silly stuff like this. What can I do though? It's not like I can relate to her or anything. Wow, I really do suck._

_If it's possible, I want to make her happy. I want to become a great explorer and make my mother and Ruby proud. I don't want to hold her back. I'll do whatever I have to. Even if I have to risk my life. It's okay if she never feels the same about me, it's just a silly crush. She's my friend._

My thoughts began to quiet down as my eyes started to droop. I rested my head on my paws and looked at the moon again. The silence of the night mixed with the wind brushing through my fur lulled me to sleep. The seconds turned to minutes as I closed my eyes.

_She's my best friend. Nothing more._

...

...

...

"You'll get a cold like this." A familiar voice softly said.

A sudden warmth pressed against my side as I started to wake. I yawned and rubbed the sleep from my eyes only to be bombarded with sunlight. It was still early, but the sun was now rising.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you right away."

"Ruby?" I nearly gawked at the Vulpix. I was visibly surprised to see her outside, let alone starting a conversation.

"Good morning, Mai." She replied barely over a whisper with half-lidded eyes.

"Morning..."

She looked off into the distance over the ocean in silence. Wind billowed through our fur and tails. Her nose wrinkled just slightly as she took in the picturesque sunrise. The heat she emanated from her flank she had pressed against me was beyond comforting. I felt unsure of what to say so I was left awkwardly staring at her.

_She's so pretty..._

The Vulpix sighed. "You're probably wondering why I finally got up." I didn't reply. I was curious, but I'm more glad she got up than anything else. She faced me. "I wanted to apologise. You've been looking forward to being an explorer for so long and because of me you've been cooped up at home."

I shook my head. "No, no! It's okay! Without you, I wouldn't have even joined the Guild to begin with."

Her gaze drifted off to the side for a moment before she continued. "Maybe, but it still isn't fair to you. I've been out of it for I'm not even sure how long. You've been helping me so much, and I haven't even told you what's troubling me."

I tried to comfort her. "It really is okay. I understand a lot of crazy things have been happening to you. You don't have to tell me what that letter said. You said you needed time, I'm not gonna hold it against you."

She bit her tongue, trying to find her resolve. "Right... the letter." She raised a paw and scratched at her neck nervously. "I want to tell you, Mai. You're my partner and I shouldn't be hiding things! Especially now that..." She trailed off.

"I don't mi-"

"No. I _need_ to talk to you about this." I felt my face heat up as we locked eyes again, now she was much closer and determined. "You're all I have. I can't push you away like that. There's some very important stuff that, if you're gonna be my partner, you need to know about."

_She's so close... _Our noses were almost touching. My heart was beating so hard I could hear it in my head.

"The letter was from Lyn. He knew I was coming back to life. Dialga did give us a gift when we saved the world. He was able to see little bits of the future and saw me come back. Some other Legendary came to him and-"

"H-Hold on! Slow down." I tried to bring her down a notch. She was speaking too fast for me to keep anything in. "Guildmaster Lucario could see the future?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes... He and someone else were supposed to be waiting for me apparently, but Lyn had another vision. He acted on it and it most likely resulted in his death."

I frowned. "That makes no sense. If he could see the future, wouldn't he have known that he'd die and not see you?" Her ears fell flat as soon as I asked my question and my heart panged with guilt.

"He had to choose between his daughter and me."

"Oh... So he saved Hapi instead. And that's why you've been out of it?"

"Part of it, I guess? I'm not sure. I wanted to feel sad or angry or something, I still do. But all I feel is emptiness. I don't know how to react to it at all." Her front paws started fidgeting and clawing into the ground as she looked around. "I'm not sure if he knew that she'd be in danger when I woke up or that we'd save her."

"Would you have preferred that he picked you instead?" I asked before I could stop myself.

She seemed to try and hide her frustration, but her tails were betraying her and quivered uncomfortably. I tried to ignore the side she had pressed up against me that was heating up considerably. "I'd be more upset if he chose me... I think. I'm being awful, I just feel so thrown out of my element. Everything feels wrong and none of it feels real. Like it's a bad dream and I'll wake up any minute."

I gave a sad sigh as I patted her side with my tail. "What did you mean by part of it?" I tried to change the topic a little in hopes of calming her somehow.

"Yes. It's the reason I need to talk to you now. I want to give you the choice instead of just dragging you along." She took a moment to figure out her words. "Mai, something big is about to happen. Something dangerous. I don't know exactly what will happen, but a lot of pokemon may get hurt or worse."

"I'm not leaving your side, Ruby." I said with confidence.

She shook her head. "Just... listen. I plan on doing what I can to save however many Pokemon I can. I would appreciate having you there with me, but things may not go well. We may die." I nodded, undaunted. "No, we will most likely die."

She sighed as she saw me nod again. "It won't be like whatever luck we invoked last time. If we die, we'll stay _dead._ I don't have any special powers that prevent me from dying. You didn't ask for any of this. I'll understand if you want to switch teams."

_She tells me I'm all she has and then asks me to abandon her? That's so cruel. As if I could even consider doing that. I don't want to leave her, no matter what happens._

"Please. Think about this thoroughly. I don't even know what this threat is. Hell, we could even end up fighting Legendaries."

"Ruby!" She stopped and sniffled, fighting back tears as I continued. "I _want _to help. Please believe me. I don't care if we have to fight thirty Alakazams, I want to be with you. We're partners, right?"

She sniffled again and covered her eyes with one of her forelegs as she grabbed her pendant with the other. "Why do you trust me?! I just told you that the world could be in danger and you just accepted it like it was nothing. I've put you in danger and even gotten you killed. Why do you trust me?!"

I bit my lip worriedly. _Telling you the truth would only make things worse. _

"Because I want to trust you." I cursed to myself as my voice faltered.

She didn't reply as she whimpered for a few minutes. I started to worry if I said something wrong. "Fine..." was all she said. I felt at a loss for anything else to say. This was all from out of nowhere. I didn't expect her to say a word to me today, let alone come outside and give me this talk.

"Well, what now?" I finally managed.

She stood up and stretched forward, bringing her rear and tails into the air. Her voice was now a little strained. "We go to the snowy continent."

I tried unsuccessfully to not stare. "The snowy continent?"

She sniffled and rubbed her face. "We've gotta find someone. But before that, I think we should take our first mission and get you leveled up a bit."

My tail swished through the air behind me excitedly. "Really?!"

She nodded as she turned towards me. I almost flinched as she reached over and unfastened my ribbon. I nearly held my breath as my tail sped up while she fixed the knot so it cleanly wrapped around some of the fur around my neck. "It's about time we did. With the way our Guildmaster seems to be, I'm surprised she hasn't charged into your den and forced us to take a mission yet."

"Heh, I'm sure she's too busy to worry about us taking only two days before taking a mission." I got up as she pulled away and jumped down in front of my den as I tried to calm myself.

"Two days? Huh..." She hopped down before going into the den to grab her bag and then followed after me as we made our way to the Guild once more.

_I wonder what our first mission will be like. I can't wait!_

* * *

"This one has missions for this continent." I recounted what I could to Ruby as she started reading through each of the requests. "The further down you go, the easier the missions are. Also, it's left to right when it comes to distance, since we take missions from Capim and all the other smaller towns in our continent."

Ruby's tails were twitching as she read through several of the requests. "What about the board inside the Guild?" she asked.

"Warrants and missions from other Guilds across the world. They're usually either super difficult or super important to be spread world wide. High risk high reward stuff." Ruby took off her bag and set it down to the side as she skimmed through the missions again.

I saw a few missions that peaked my interest, mostly lost items and even some requests for guiding Pokemon through mystery dungeons. The whole thing was finally starting to sink in.

_I'm finally going into a mystery dungeon! I can't believe it! The last time I tried, I got lost in the drenched bluffs and had to get fished out by Jeremiah. I sorta hope she doesn't pick something too easy. I could even be saving someone's life today, that's incredible!_

"Mt. horn has several..."

"That one's a few hours of a walk, but I hear the ferals out there have been much more aggressive lately." I honestly expected her to choose something much closer. I wouldn't have been surprised if she chose the bluffs or the beach cave nearby. I shrugged and assumed it had to do with how she wanted to level me up quickly.

"Mating season probably just ended. So long as we avoid nests and dens we'll be fine."

"Mating season?" I frowned. _I know they're ferals, but do they all sync up like that? That's weird to think about._

She glanced back at me and nodded indifferently. "Most of the time, we just have to worry about the females that already gave birth or laid eggs. They'll be a bit hectic about their territories. Still-pregnant ferals won't come near in fear of harming their young. Males usually abandon anything they impregnate."

_I didn't know ferals were capable of such things. Then again, they're probably just running on instinct. I never really put thought into any of this._

"Alright, we're taking these ones." My eyes widened as I saw her take multiple missions off the board. As in more than one, and she kept pulling more and more off.

"W-What? How many are we taking?"

"Hmm." She counted through the several sheets she ripped from the board. "We're just gonna start out with nine today." She told me this calmly as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Nine?!" I gawked at her in disbelief. She couldn't be serious! That's nearly all the missions for mt. horn and some from rocky path!

"Yep, just nine. Do I gotta give these to whoever's at the front desk? I used to just take these with me."

_She's joking right? She was so down before, how is she in the mood for jokes now? She can't be serious. _"Y-Yeah."

Instead of revealing it to be a ruse like I hoped, she walked over and opened the doors to the Guild. She stopped and waited for me to follow, but it took me a moment to break out of my stupor. I shook my head a bit and started towards her, but noticed her bag she left on the ground.

I ran over and grabbed the strap in my mouth and started to run back. Only for the bag to weigh much more than I expected. I nearly flipped and landed on my face, which now burned in pain along with my teeth. I glanced back and saw Ruby cover her mouth and give a small laugh.

My face burned with embarrassment. "What the hell is in this thing?!" I barked. I got back up and tried to pull the bag again, now going much slower as I struggled to drag it along the ground. If anyone else outside at the moment noticed, they weren't showing it.

"Necessities and some things needed for training." She informed me and walked into the Guild.

She had grabbed a few more things at the bank right before and gave me some poke to buy several berries that she tossed in here too. I had no clue it'd weigh this much though. I was literally leaving a trail in the ground behind me as I made it through the door.

She muttered a "thanks" as she took her bag from me and swung it onto her back.

_How?!_

I shook my head and sighed as we made our way to the front desk with our... missions. The Monferno from yesterday was at the desk again. I couldn't remember much about him other than his accent from overseas. Seeing as Ruby was deliberately taking smaller steps than me, I decided to start the conversation.

"Good morning!" I chirped and got his attention.

"Hm." He looked up from the book he was reading and reflexively pulled another out from the desk. "Oh, it's you lot. Nice to finally meet'cha, the name's Naric" He stretched his arms behind his head and pulled out a feather pen and opened the second book. "Mai... and Ruby, right? Finally taking ye first mission?"

"Yep!" Ruby silently nodded as she padded up to the desk and set the missions on the table.

He started to reach for it but hesitated. He moved and separated each one before glancing between the two of us with suspicion. "Yer not pulling me tail, are ye?" I sucked in air through my teeth and looked away as Ruby shook her head.

The Monferno sighed and pinched his nose. "I know I got word from Jer' about dropping the limits for you lot, but I urge ye to reconsider. Even just taking three missions is a bit much for a day and yer tripling that."

Not hearing an answer, I assumed she only shook her head again. Naric groaned. "A'ight, not like I can stop ye." He took the sheets and started writing into the book. I recognised it as the same one I stole from Jeremiah.

_Guess it really wasn't a diary then._

He checked something from each of the requests and copied it into the book. After finishing, he handed the requests back to Ruby. "If anything goes wrong, there's no shame in asking for help, remember that."

We thanked him for the advice and made our way out. "Luck be with ye, little ladies." Naric called after us. I rolled my eyes as I instantly stopped liking him.

"We can grab some breakfast before we go if you'd like." Ruby said before we left the town square.

"Yeah... I'm starving."

* * *

_**~Gray~**_

The chalk in my claws clacked against the blackboard with each stroke as I wrote out each of the common berries from memory. I heard a snicker behind me, but deep glare from my golden eyes upon the Poochyena responsible cut that short. I yawned as I went back to the board.

_They think just because they're in the back of the class, I won't be able to single them out?_

_**They are just cubs and young. It's only natural, you can't blame them.**_

I finished writing about fourteen of them and scratched at the black and red fur of my head. My long mane was comfortably thrown back and tied off as always, helping me keep balance and stay on my back legs. Other than my yellow eyes, I looked like a completely normal Zoroark. If only...

I haven't slept in a few days, and I was feeling it. I tried to shake the woozy feeling away as I brought the chalk up again. I felt like I was missing one of the more obvious berries, but nothing was coming to mind.

_**Yache.**_

_Ah right, thanks._

I wrote the last berry down and sighed as I spun around and tried to hide the tiredness in my voice. "Alright class, today we're going to be focusing on berry types and uses. Do any of you recognise the names on the board?"

Of the twenty Pokemon sitting in or behind improvised desks, about eight raised their paws or something similar. I sighed inwardly as I guessed why so many raised their hands for once.

_They're thinking with their stomachs._

_**I've told you already, they're normal young. You can't expect them to know stuff like this.**_

_I knew it at their age._

_**You're... a special case.**_

I huffed. "What about the ailments each of these berries help?"

Remarkably, two paws were left up. I pointed a claw at the Poochyena from before. "Ah, Um…" He started with a big grin and I immediately regretted my choice. "You can eat them when you're hungry!"

I suppressed a growl as the whole class filled with laughter. I pinched my nose and shook my head. "Quiet down, class."

_I'm going to murder the child._

_**You can't murder a child just because you don't like them!**_

_I absolutely can murder a child just because I don't like them! _

_**You know what I meant. You shouldn't. Just drop it. **_

_It's called sarcasm, have ya heard of it?!_

_**Yes, I am aware of what sarcasm is. **_

_Then you should be aware that if I really wanted to murder a child, you couldn't stop me._

_**This isn't the time for jokes. You have more important things to do, you know.**_

_Right, I've gotta teach a bunch of kids and then spend my nights reading every book in existence. _

_**We're waiting for our colleagues. They could show up at any moment.**_

_It's been two years! I've been waiting for these "colleagues" for so long and I've heard nothing! I'm pretty certain they're just dead._

_**Just be PATIENT.**_

_I can tell, you know. That you don't know what's going on either. You're afraid._

_**We're not talking about me. Focus on your class, you've been glaring at them in silence for over a minute.**_

"Mister Nox?" The female Sneasel with her paw still up sounded concerned.

As I looked at her, my scowl softened. I gave a heavy sigh as I shook my head. It's my own fault I gave the boy a chance. I knew he was gonna say something along those lines. I should've called upon Ari first. She's the only one listening half the time.

"Gray is fine. Go on, Ari."

She nervously pressed her claws together. "I remember you mentioned pecha berries before. You said they can cure most kinds of poison, right?" I nodded and motioned for her to continue. With a bit more bravery, she recalled what she could. "My father sells a few of these, too. Chesto gives you energy and aspear can help Pokemon suffering from frostbite."

_At least they aren't all a lost cause._

_**That's cruel to think. You're their teacher, so if they aren't learning it's your fault. It's not fair to play favourites as well.**_

I gave a small smile, ignoring the voice. "Very good, Ari. You were pretty spot on. I hope the rest of you heard that. I'm not joking when I say information like this can very well save your lives and others' lives as well."

I could tell some of the students were half listening, but I didn't mind. Natural selection will do what it does best. "First, I'm going to go over their appearance and how to differentiate them and their effects."

* * *

_**~Ruby~**_

"If I remember correctly... the first time I came here with Lyn, we were around level fifteen. Which you're pretty close to, I think. You're pretty far ahead to be just starting out, Mai."

Mai's ear twitched as she looked back to me. "I... I am?"

We were nearing the rocky path while making idle conversation. It was mostly questions about the first few missions I did with Lyn. The trees along the path were growing more sparse as I stayed in step behind Mai. For some reason, she was trying to stay in front of me. It didn't really bother me, though.

"Well yeah. You said your mother taught you most of your moves, right?" She nodded and I continued. "Your moveset is pretty incredible for your level. Eevee usually learn moves like last resort at much higher levels. I really can't think of any moves Eevees learn that you don't already know. Maybe swift, but that's about it."

Her face turned red as she faced away with her tail swishing happily behind her. I scoffed, amused by how proud she looked. She was really easy to read.

She glanced back again, looking confused. "What is it?"

_She must've heard me. _

"Nothing important." I yawned, still feeling a little out of it from my days off.

She huffed and slowed down till we were side by side. She brought her face close to mine, as if she was examining me. "I'm serious, is there anything wrong?"

_Is she worried about me?_

"Just a little tired, Mai. I'm okay."

She frowned and stared into my eyes as if she was trying to read my mind. She sighed and pulled back slightly with a worried look. "Are you sure? We don't have to do these missions right now."

I was touched that she worried so much. "I'm alright. I promise." She sighed and nodded as the stone entrance to the rocky path came into view. "Now that we're here, though. It's about time I got more of these weights on you."

"More?" She lifted one of her back legs with a thin blue bracelet right above her paw.

"We've got a lot of work to do, and we've got to build your endurance fast. I'm not willing to leave for the snowy continent until you're at least level thirty."

"Thirty? That's over twice my level!" She whined, but as she looked at me it seemed something changed her mind. She quickly shook herself out of it. "I can do it. Gimme more weights."

I exhaled out of my nose as I set my bag down and dug through it until I found what I was searching for. I pulled out four more and the magnets immediately locked together as I brought the anklets together. Now she had two on her hind legs and one on her front legs.

_The only thing more insane than their resilience is how fast a Pokemon can get stronger under the right conditions. _My mind went back to my original life for just a moment as I thought about training Pokemon. _There was that kid that had just started the gym challenge and was close to challenging the champion in only 3 months. _

Mai took a few steps and skipped a bit. "This isn't too bad. I can handle a little more."

"That's already nearly fifteen kilograms. Are you sure?" She nodded, lifting each leg to awkwardly look at the anklets.

_She's at least double her weight and she isn't even noticing? I've used these weights before too, though. Even more than this actually. It's really hard to wrap my head around how Pokemon's muscles work. Even after tearing, they'll heal up and be stronger in a few hours if that._

I picked up two more and put them on her front legs. "Just don't force yourself too much. I've got plenty of oran berries, but there is a limit. I'll be ready to help you if you need it, at least until you really get used to those weights."

She tried to run ahead, but immediately almost tripped. "W-Woah, okay. Yeah... that's noticeable." She started forward again, only speeding up after a few steps. I jogged forward to keep up as we ran into the rocky path.

"Do you remember the missions for rocky path?" I asked.

"Yeah... find a lost Psyduck, give some food to Zigzagoon, and find a stolen necklace with a big pearl."

I nodded as the cave around us changed its paths, trapping us within the mystery dungeon. "Remember, avoid nests and basically any cave mouth."

She didn't answer as she saw the first feral Pokemon in our path. I slowed down and she did as well. The Shroomish gave a small cry as it ran towards us, hellbent on attacking. Mai looked very nervous, but with one supportive look from me she nodded and built up a shadow ball.

She ran towards her enemy and threw her attack. Before it even hit, she started a quick attack. Albeit much slower than usual. The shadow ball hit the shroomish as it tried to shoot some seeds at the Eevee. She didn't get hit by a single one as she closed the distance and crashed into the mushroom and threw it into the wall, immediately knocking it out.

She spun around to me. "I... I did it!"

I gave a slight smile. "You did well, don't overexert yourself too much. Let me know when you need a berry." She cheered happily and met with me again as we ran through the dungeon. We saw a few more weak Pokemon like the one before, that Mai was able easily dispatch by herself.

We found the hungry Zigzagoon pretty quickly. He was pretty rude about how long it took for someone to take his mission, so while Mai yelled at him I gave him a bit more food to make up for it. Mai expressed how glad she was to be away from the guy by insulting him under her breath..

We made it up to the next floor eventually as Mai started chasing down some Natus and Pinecos. She was doing very well considering, and was only outnumbered a handful of times. I quickly stepped in whenever she panicked or seemed to be outmatched. Once we got to the third floor, I could tell she was losing some steam.

"Let's take a quick break."

She didn't argue as she sat down and caught her breath. I pulled out a few oran and leppa berries and placed them in front of her. "Thanks." She muttered between breaths.

I blew out some flames away from her to cool myself off. I'm normally pretty resistant to heat, but my inner fire felt like it was building up too much. I took out maybe three or four Pokemon and since then it feels like there's almost too much fire in me. I started panting as the stream of fire built up a bit.

"You okay there?" Mai asked.

"I might be a little sick or something." I panted as I reached into the bag, grabbing a rawst berry and making short work of it. It surprisingly helped quite a bit. I sighed in relief. "I'll be fine, just try not to get any burns. I might end up eating all of our rawst berries."

Mai started to say something, but was cut short by a scream. We both shot straight up as a Psyduck ran around the corner, still screaming.

"Behind us!" Mai suddenly said, taking initiative. The Psyduck immediately followed her order as she cowered behind us.

"Y-You're not ferals?!" The female Psyduck cried. "Thank Arceus! There's a monster chasing me. I just barely got away."

_A monster? _I instinctively took a step forward to be ahead of Mai. _Might as well make use of this abundance of fire... _I built up a big flame in my chest as I heard steps coming closer. The Psyduck cried even harder.

"If there are multiple enemies, focus on protecting our client." I ordered Mai quietly and she nodded.

I got ready to attack with bated breath. We held our breath for what seemed like minutes as the steps got closer and closer as a Teddiursa turned the corner. I nearly choked on my flames as I tried to keep my composure.

_Why was it walking instead of running?_

Mai started giggling. "That's it?" She asked. "Thank Arceus, I was terrified."

The Teddiursa growled angrily as I noticed the round stone around its neck. "Mai, there's the pearl."

She saw it too, and cockily stepped towards it. "You don't seem that strong at all. If you give us that pearl back, I'll let you go." She offered, only succeeding in pissing the little bear off more.

"N-No. That's not it." I heard Psyduck weakly say.

The bear charged Mai and she easily sidestepped the attack before hitting him with a tackle. The cub hit the ground pretty hard and immediately started crying.

I turned to the Psyduck. "That's not it? That's not what? The monster?."

The Psyduck was shaking as she pressed herself into the ground as if to make herself a smaller target. "Its... its… its mother-"

My heart dropped as I realised what she was trying to say. "Mai!" I screamed. "Get back here, forget the pearl!"

"What? Why? It's right here." She reached down to the crying bear as the ground shook. She froze as we both looked over to where they had come from. My fears were realised as an Ursaring with pure fury in its eyes tore a chunk of the stone corner out of the wall as it roared.

I-I-I... Ruby... " Mai stuttered as she slowly backed up to me.

_It's evolved so it's a fairly high level. It can't be much more than forty though. I can probably handle it alone. With Mai's help, I shouldn't have much difficulty. We've got to get Psyduck out of here somehow. If we can distract the Ursaring, she might be able to run away and wait for us up ahead._

_Mai is too close to the Ursaring, I've gotta get in between them! _

"Mai, back up! Focus on support for now!"

I felt something grab onto my bag and I took a terrified glance only to find Psyduck instead. She was completely horrified as she pulled an orb from my bag.

Everything felt like it was going in slow motion as the Ursaring charged for us and the Psyduck threw the orb onto the ground. "No! I'm too close!" I tried to scream, but it was too late. The orb shattered on impact as light filled the area, forcing me to close my eyes.

The light blinded me for what felt like an hour until I could finally see again. In an instant, I was outside. The Psyduck gave a big sigh of relief as she fell onto her back. My heart raced as I quickly looked around.

_She's not here._

_SHE'S NOT HERE_

**A/N: Hope you're not getting tired of all these cliffhangers. It's about time I got this chapter out too! Only like 2 or 3 weeks late I think? I don't remember. Mai's true feelings are exposed and a few new characters! Exciting. We got a pirate, and a teacher. Yes he's actually supposed to sound like a pirate. The point is that oversea travel is becoming more of a thing, so there's tons of ships out in the ocean. So pirates do exist. As for the teacher Gray, "what is his story?" you may be asking. (Or all of this is in my head, and nobody really cares about Gray) Maybe you'll find out soon! All I'm gonna say is get used to the name. Cuz as soon as I hit post I can't change it again! **

**On to something a bit more fun. We're finally generating some review traffic here and this may not be a thing right away, most likely later on, but would you lot be interested in asking the characters any questions directly? If I get enough questions I'll post them in future chapters. They won't be revealing anything for the story and they won't remember the questions as the story continues so really its like an Ama. And I do mean anything. I dunno whether or not I'll repeat this question later on, but I'll still be looking for questions. **

Does Mai is the gay?

Yis


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